Bursa - Thermal Baths

(Local Name: Çekirge) In the western suburb of Çekirge are some of the most celebrated sulfurous and chalybeate thermal springs and baths in the East. Known in antiquity as the "royal" springs, they were undoubtedly in use before the Roman Imperial period, but both the Roman and the Byzantine buildings, which were visited by the Empress Theodora among others, have almost completely disappeared. The Old Bath (Eski Kaplica) was built by Sultan Murat I, using the remains of an earlier building. Close by is his first mosque, Gazi Hunkiar Camii (1365), on a cruciform plan. On the terrace of the mosque is the Türbe of Murat I, who was murdered in 1389 after the Battle of Kosova in Serbia.

The New Bath (Yeni Kaplica), a master work of architecture with beautiful marble and tile decoration, was built by the Grand Vizier Rüstem Pasa in the 16th century.