Bursa was the Ottoman capital before Edirne - late 1200s-early 1300s. The two founding sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Orhan and Osman, are buried here. Bursa is also where the empire's great architectural style was first developed. Today it is a city of 1.5 million people and is a rapidly developing industrial and commercial center. The city is located south of Istanbul and across from the Marmara Sea. Because of it's location on the slopes of Uludag, the Bithynian Mount Olympus, it has a nickname "Green Bursa" because of the surrounding greenery and forests.

Bursa has also been known as a famous Jewish community. After the conquest of the city in 1324, sultan Orhan permitted building of the Etz ha-Hayyim Synagogue, which was used for over 600 years.

Some of the places to see in Bursa are:
- Muradiye - a cemetery of many Ottoman Sultans and Princes
- Mausoleum of Osman and Orhan Bey
- Ulu mosque, also called the "Grand Mosque", which is located in the commercial center of town, next to the covered bazaar and silk manufacturers' bazaar (Koza Han)
- The district called Yesil (green) is an important part of town with its turquise colored mosque and inner mausoleum which were built during the sultan Mehmet I period.