"Why are you going there? Go to Istanbul."

I can't tell you how many astonished Turks told me this before I came. Of course most of these were young students at my last gig in San Francisco and I guess I can understand why they don't like it here. It's tough being Bursa. Three hours away from it's rowdy, rocking neighbor to the north, it is a city well known for religious and cultural conservatism, and yet paradoxically where, according to a few Turks I've spoken with, "all the gays come from." Clearly, these type of generalizations might not appeal to the average young cosmo-Turk accustomed to all night club-spelunking and cocktails overlooking the glowing mosques of Istanbul.

So, Bursa gets bashed alot by non-Bursans (and sometimes Bursans alike). And it goes without saying most foreigners who haven't visited Turkey have probably never even heard of her.

Yeah, it's tough being Bursa. Or is it?

Actually, Bursans enjoy low unemployment and a booming automotive and textile industry. Companies like Renault and Fiat arrived awhile back and have gotten the first capital of the Ottoman Empire up and running again since the days of the Silk Trade, which actually never went away. According to the Lonely Planet, "if you visit in June or September, you may see some 14000 villagers...haggling over huge sacks of precious white cocoons." In addition to cars and silk, I've been told there is no shortage of towels being created here either.

As far as the people, I'm not sure if they're any more conservative than any other town. It's hard to compare her to bigger cities like Istanbul or Izmir or Ankara, just as it is comparing Louisville, Kentucky (with roughly the same population as Bursa) to New York. What Turkey's fourth largest city doesn't have in the way of infinite nightlife or multi-culturalism, it must make up for in kebab, mineral baths, hamams, notable mosques and historical importance. None other than Osman Gazi, founder of the Ottoman Empire, established Bursa as its first capital, and is buried up in the hills in the center of town alongside his successor Orhan.

And if you enjoy a perverse amount of meat over pita bread topped with copious amounts of butter, you can't beat Bursa's very own Iskender kebab. I personally can only eat it about once every 2 months, but the locals love it as do a few of my French friends. On the next day you may as well dislodge the chunks of cholesterol from your arteries with a little ski down Uludag mountain. Apparently it's the best ski resort in the country.

Although none of the above really answered the curious young Turks in San Francisco who asked me "Why are you going there?", my reply left little room for further wonder...