Bursa and Cumalıkızık: the Birth of the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire learned to be an empire at Bursa. After the conquest of the city early in the 14th century, its first capital took shape around khans, bath-houses, soup kitchens and mosque complexes, and the tomb of the dynasty's founder Orhan Ghazi still stands at its heart. The nearby village of Cumalıkızık preserves the rural side of the system, supplying the young capital from the countryside. Eight component sites were inscribed by UNESCO in 2014.