Bursa
As the first capital of the Ottoman Empire located on both the silk and spice roads, Bursa became a crucial trading centre throughout its history. The city’s enriching culture derives from it being a city of immigration, which has resulted in the city’s unique artistic knowledge. With the city’s cultural and historical background, various arts and crafts have been performed by a number of artists and craftspeople, notably silk of Bursa, Iznik tiles, shadow puppetry (Karagoz), cutlery, weaving, wood carving, glass ornament, marbling, philography, traditional archery, needle lace and many others. The city of Bursa boasts a set of cultural assets that includes 55 culture centres, 20 art galleries, 28 museums, among others. With a 530-year history of silk trading, Koza (Cocoon) Khan is one of the most popular places for visitors to discover the city’s cultural heritage. The city’s Textile Museum welcomes an average of 90,000 visitors, and the Umurbey Silk Production and Design Centre receives around 35,000 per year. All of these important centres reflect the importance of Bursa’s historic sericulture industry, an essential element of the local crafts. The Iznik Museum, showing the finest examples of Iznik tiles, reopened in 2020 after restoration works. The city is also home to the Swords and Shields Dance, a rare folk dance performed without music.
As a Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art, the following steps will be important:
- Strengthening international cooperation and contributing to sustainable development;
- Sharing experiences, best practices and learning thus providing future opportunities for creators, professionals, academics and the city’s youth; and
- Bringing together public-private sector and civil society representatives and providing a place for the dissemination of cultural goods and services as well as marketing opportunities.
