Market · Bursa

Koza Han & the Kapalı Çarşı Bazaar District

This is where the Silk Road came to rest. Bursa's bazaar district is not one market but a whole neighbourhood of interconnected hans, covered streets and specialist bazaars that have been trading continuously since the Ottoman era.

The Silk Courtyard at Koza Han

Koza Han — the Cocoon Inn — is the jewel of the district: a finely restored 15th-century caravanserai whose leafy inner courtyard is now filled with tea-garden tables shaded by mulberry trees. Silk cocoons were once haggled over here by farmers and brokers; today you'll find silk scarves, ties and fabrics sold from the same arched arcades.

Sit with a glass of çay beneath the courtyard's central fountain and you'll understand why travellers have been pausing here for 600 years. The atmosphere is unhurried and the tea is always hot.

A Labyrinth Worth Getting Lost In

Beyond Koza Han, the Kapalı Çarşı proper stretches along Kapalı Çarşı Caddesi in a maze of covered alleys. The 14th-century Bedesten — rebuilt after an 1855 earthquake — anchors the district, while the Eski Aynalı Çarşı (Old Mirrored Bazaar), originally a 14th-century hammam, now houses shops selling Karagöz shadow puppets, the traditional Bursa craft that UNESCO has recognised as intangible heritage.

Duck further west and you'll hit the Bakırcılar Kapalı Çarşısı (Coppersmiths' Covered Bazaar) and the Havlucular Çarşısı (Towel Makers' Bazaar), where locals shop for hamam towels and children's clothes — proof that this is a living market, not a tourist set.

What to Buy and When to Go

Bursa silk is the thing to seek out: scarves, stoles and yardage woven in the city's own mills. Beyond textiles, look for locally made Karagöz puppets, olive-oil soaps, spices and kestane şekeri (candied chestnuts) to carry home. The bazaar is more relaxed and better-priced than Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, and the shopkeepers — many running family businesses for generations — are refreshingly low-pressure.

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