Settled on the northwestern slopes of Mount Uludag in the southern Marmara Region, Bursa is frequently cited as “Green Bursa”, in reference to the parks and gardens located across its urban tissue, as well as to the vast forests in rich variety that extend in its surroundings.

The first major capital city in the early years of the Ottoman Empire; Bursa kept its importance as a commercial centre, especially as the source of most royal silk products during the Ottoman period.

Thus, Bursa has traditionally been a pole of attraction, and was a major centre for refugees from various ethnic backgrounds; and it holds an immaculate heritage of Ottoman civil architecture.