Around 10.30 am we departed from Bahrain International Airport and arrived in Istanbul, Turkey around 2 pm. Instanbul is the only city to bridge two continents,Europe and Asia.
Around 4.30 pm we started our journey in Turkiye land by bus towards Bursa and has to cross Marmara Sea by ferryboat to Yalova through Orhangazi dan Gemlik Bay.
Around 8.30 pm we arrived at the Green Mosque, Bursa for the first visit. The Green Mosque, commissioned by Sultan Mehmet I Çelebi and finished in 1424, it takes its name from the green-blue tiles of the interior. Its main portal, of marble richly worked, was once sheltered by a columned porch which, along with much of the mosque, was destroyed by earthquake in 1855. Above the portal, reached by a small staircase inside, is the sultan's lodge, decorated in gilded tiles, but usually not open to the public. The mosque's domed central hall is flanked by rooms to left and right that were used for both prayer and for conducting Ottoman government affairs. The main prayer hall is the room with the 15-meter-high mihrab (prayer niche), opposite the portal. Behind the mosque to the south is the pretty, harmonious octagonal Green Tomb. The tomb was covered in blue tiles during restoration work in the 1800s. It is again under restoration (2008). If you have the chance to glance inside, you'll see the richly tiled cenotaphs of Sultan Mehmet I and his family. During our visit the mosque still under renovation.
After that we headed to the hotel, Kervansaray Hotel for dinner and overnight there. The food in the hotel was a little bit salty but it is normal for the Turkish.
"TO BE CONTINUED"
