Upon waking up contained in the soft sun ray in Daril’s bed, which he kindly gave up and went to sleep with his flatmates instead, I felt so rejuvenated. It’s time for me to go, so I quietly packed my backpack and headed for the doorway. Waved good bye I set out again, in the direction of Yenikapı ferry terminal. It was a great morning as I walked the streets that was to me of certain familiarity from yesterday’s travel, and interacted with the locals by asking for directions and inquiring prices of some goods on sale. The ferry terminal was in the vicinity of Süleymanıye mosque and Istanbul University and I stopped by to admire the University which I believe in every part of the world portrays the culture of the country as a whole. Unfortunately I cannot enter as the entry applies only to students with valid pass probably due to security reasons.
The ferry is a popular means of long distance travel as compared to bus, though the bus can go onto the ferry itself. On the ferry there are limited entertainment but TV programs shown on large screen LCD or hanging outside the cabin to enjoy the sea breeze. A few kids came to me and tried to talk to me in Turkish and the least I can reply were “How are you” and “What is your name”. But still the enthusiasm of the kids upon seeing some Asian faces made their interest linger on me and we all smiled at one other without talking. When the ferry arrived at the terminal at Güzelyalı, the lovely children along with their families sent me the last but best regards.
From the terminal you have to take public bus that costs 6TL to the city centre (şehir merkezi). The scene outside the ferry terminal can be confusing at first but just head for the kiosk selling the ticket will be fine. Request for the purchase of the ticket then inquire which bus to take. There are always enough kind souls around to show you the way, which was true on my account I must say.
The ride lasted about 20 minutes and my destination were the Ulu Camii and the PTT (Turkish post office) opposite it. The sky was already getting dark and I tried to call my host but to no avail. There are internet cafes around or you can just try the cafe beside Ulu Camii as they provide WIFI to facilitate you searching for new hosts online. But in the end I chose to just roam around first because the reply can never be so immediate and spontaneous.
Bursa is a large city and was the first capital of the Ottoman Empire. Hence you will be able to find the tombs of the great kings, namely Osman and Orhan and also the buildings that remained from the past eras. I decided to save these exciting encounters till the next morning when I could have a clear and vast view of the city from the citadel on top of a hill. In the end I had my night in a small building in a large park called the Merinos Kütür Parkı.