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Bursa: birthplace of the Ottoman Empire

Submitted by Milica on Sat, 2008/07/05 - 17:32. Byzantine | Middle Eastern
Medieval Bursa, near Istanbul, Turkey, became a cultural and economic center of the Ottoman Empire. Today, with it's cobbled streets and bazaars, the city offers tourists a peak into the past. Erik Fearn looks at the city for the Star Online.

From the article:

Tucked away on the lower slopes of the Uludag mountains, Bursa established itself as an important centre as far back as pre-Roman times, attracting emperors and rulers to its rich, fertile soil and healing thermal waters. Founded by the ancient Greeks, the city was ceaselessly fought over and conquered in turn by the Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, before finally falling to Orhan Gazi in 1326, when it became the first capital (before Istanbul) of the vast Ottoman Empire.
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