On to Bursa - 11/3/2009

I woke this morning around 6:30 am and Shanna was still online but about to fall asleep. I messaged her for a minute and then caught up on my emails before going to take a shower. We ate our breakfast together and then packed up for our next stop, in Bursa. We piled in to a taxi and were barely able to fit with much of our luggage sitting in our laps. We drove through Istanbul to the train station, and quickly made our way down to the departure area. We were a few minutes late and weren’t sure if we had missed our train. Fortunately a few minutes later the train appeared and we boarded. We had an uneventful ride to where we met the ferry and took it to Yalova where another friend of Randy’s was waiting for us.
First we went to get some lunch at a place that was a mix of department store and restaurant. I had kafta (Turkish meatballs) and Randy and Jeff had shish kebabs. We then drove on to Bursa, a city at the base of a large mountain with snow covered peaks. Along the way we passed Lake Iznik. On the other side of the lake is Iznik or Nicea, famous for being where the Nicean Creed was written. Also along the way, in the village of Ovaakca we passed a fossil fuel power plant with some big cooling towers. Bursa itself was big but also quaint in a way. Some of the streets were windy and narrow and paved with cobble stones. The temperature was cool and it was sunny and pleasant. We spent some time hanging out and then went out to dinner together and had a nice traditional Turkish meal.

Here is the restaurant/dept store we stopped at.

The power plant in Ovaakca

Snow-capped mountains near Bursa

One other thing, the government has told Jeff that he can longer drink any more Turkish coffee because they are running out. :)