The Metropolitan Municipality, which saved the Historical Bazaar and Inns Area, which has been a dream for years in Bursa, from the surrounding buildings and made it more visible, opened Ertuğrulbey Square, which will add value to the historical region, with a ceremony.
The Historical Bazaar and Inns Area, which is one of the values in Bursa's UNESCO World Heritage List, gains its real value with the investments of the Metropolitan Municipality. The Historical Bazaar and Inns District, which is a complete open air museum with 14 inns, 1 covered bazaar, 13 covered bazaars, 7 covered bazaars, 11 market areas, 4 mosques, 21 civil architectural structures, 177 school and 1 tombs. The historical transformation continues at a rapid pace. With the Çarşıbaşı Urban Design Project, the Metropolitan Municipality, which brought an area of 3 thousand square meters, 9 thousand square meters of which is green, to the region, on the other hand, completed the arrangement works in Ertuğrulbey Square. The historical texture of the region was further highlighted with the work covering an area of approximately 20 square meters in Ertuğrulbey Square, which is surrounded by Cumhuriyet Street, Geyve Han, Commodity Exchange, Fidan Han, Ertuğrul Bey Mosque and Yorgancılar Bazaar. The burial chamber belonging to the Bithynian period, which has a history of 3500 years in the project, was also made more visible with glass coating. Ertuğrulbey Square, which has been transformed into a privileged area where citizens visiting the historical bazaar can breathe, was put into service with a ceremony attended by Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank and AK Party Deputy Chairman and Bursa Deputy Efkan Ala.
500 million giant project
Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Alinur Aktaş started her speech by thanking all past mayors who have contributed to the work done so far to change the face of the Historical Bazaar and Inns Area. Reminding that they set out on a journey as of the end of 2019 regarding the historical region, Mayor Aktaş said, “We had a goal to unearth this special place. We knew that it was a very costly and legally troublesome business. I presented the project to our President, Murat Kurum, and thank God we have come a long way today. They tried to prevent us with perception and lies. They said, 'This is a profiteering project'. But you see, there is not even a 5 square meter sales area. There is only the square here and there is a mosque, tomb and treasures that we are trying to revive. Parking was the biggest need of the region, we are completing it. It was a project in which we spent more than 500 million dollars, including the expropriation cost. We want the Hanlar District to be a lively place 7/24. Within the scope of these works, we have revealed the historical structure in Ertuğrulbey Square”.
I was shot as soon as I saw it.
Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank also stated that he listened to the first presentation about the demolition of ugly buildings and the revealing of the historical region from the Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum at the cabinet meeting and said, "I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said I was shot the first time I saw it." Stating that they opened one of the most beautiful examples of how a nation takes care of its history, how a nation cares about its past while going to the future, Minister Varank said, "When I first heard about the project from our Minister of Institution Murat, I went to our minister and said, "My dear Minister, God bless you. May God be pleased with you, to be able to reveal this history in this way, to revive these historical artifacts, which are the most important title deeds that our ancestors left us and which will make this country stand forever and which we will leave to children.” I was really happy to be at the opening of this work today. Again, good luck. I would like to thank our Metropolitan Mayor and Murat Institution Minister very much. We are a political movement that knows very well what it means to claim our past. We are a political movement that knows that if we do not protect the past, we cannot target the future. We are not a country without identity, personality, rootless. Our ancestors are famous in the world. He created these works. If we forget our ancestors, we have no way to go. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this beautiful, heart-opening work.”
We present our treasure
AK Party Deputy Chairman and Bursa Deputy Efkan Ala said, “You can establish a city, but you cannot establish a city. If a city is 2500-3000 years old, that same number of years is needed to build that city. For him, Bursa is not just a city, it is a great city. The streets we walk around in Bursa are mentioned. The streets of this city tell its 3000-year-old story. The stones of historical places speak to you. We are lucky to live in this city. So each of us should do our best. As Master Necip Fazıl said, the pavements of this city are 'like a hero who sold his head for a cause'. As Tanpınar said, 'A crystal chandelier is time in Bursa' in this city. Our Metropolitan Mayor, who works as much as the people living in Bursa, is also lucky. By revealing the Inns Area, we present a hidden treasure not only to Bursa and Turkey, but also to the world. This is a world city. It's the least we can do for this city. Our duty to such a city is not over. Good luck with the services rendered. Congratulations to our mayor and his team.