marmara

İznik–Bursa–Trilye Line — October 2021

After Düzce’s forests and waterfalls, the road bent gently toward Sapanca and carried us into İznik — one of the most underestimated cities in Anatolia, yet one of the most decisive in world history.

İznik is not simply an old town; it is the city of the First Council of Nicaea (325 AD), where the foundations of modern Christianity were formally defined.
Here, the Nicene Creed was formed, shaping Christian theology across continents for centuries.
Because of this, İznik is preparing for a major symbolic moment: the Vatican has announced that Pope Francis plans to visit İznik in 2025, marking the 1700th anniversary of the Council — a global religious event that quietly returns world attention to this small lakeside town.

We visited Hagia Sophia of İznik (Ayasofya Camii) — once a basilica, later a mosque — standing directly on the ground where theological history was written.
Nearby, we explored the İznik Tile Museum (Nilüfer Hatun Imaret / Çinili Köşk), where İznik ceramics reveal a forgotten peak of Ottoman craftsmanship.

From İznik, we ascended Uludağ by cable car, watching Bursa slowly collapse beneath clouds.
Later we wandered through Bursa’s historic center and had one of the most memorable meals of the trip at Zennup 1844 — Chef Ömür Akkor’s kitchen, where forgotten Anatolian recipes are revived with academic precision.

The road continued through Mudanya into the coastal silence of Trilye, where stone houses lean gently toward the Marmara Sea.
On the return, we stepped into Cumalıkızık, a UNESCO World Heritage village — one of the earliest Ottoman rural settlements, preserved in both architecture and daily rhythm.
We bought wild mountain strawberries, and ended the route at Hacı Aziz Köftecisi, closing the journey with something simple and exact.

The route later shifted to the Northern Aegean, beginning in Yeşilyurt (Kazdağları) — a stone village resting on clean air, slow time, and olive trees.

From there we reached Adatepe, where Aegean–Anatolian stone architecture merges with deep mountain silence, then continued to Assos (Behramkale) — once a philosophical harbor of Aristotle, where ancient columns still face the Aegean wind.

We crossed Behram Bridge, followed the coast to Bozcaada, wandered its streets and shores, and stopped at Yükseloğulları Ezine Cheese Shop for the region’s sharp, clean-flavored cheeses.
A final tea break at a roadside garden, and — fittingly — the journey closed again at Hacı Aziz Köftecisi.