Koza Han

Koza Han was built in 1491 by Bayezid II as a han - a merchants' inn with storage below and rooms above - and its trade was silk. Bursa sat at the western end of the road that brought raw silk from Iran, and the cocoon market held in this courtyard was the centre of it; for centuries growers brought cocoons here each June and dealers bid on them, and a much-reduced version of that market still happens. The building is two storeys of arcaded galleries around a square courtyard, with a small octagonal mosque raised on piers over a fountain in the middle. The ground floor is now shops selling silk scarves, towels and textiles, and the courtyard under its plane trees is filled with tea tables that are among the pleasantest places to sit in the city. It is part of the UNESCO-listed historic centre, together with the Ulu Cami, the bazaar and the surrounding hans.

What you actually see

• The arcaded courtyard - two storeys of galleries around the square.
• The courtyard mosque - the small octagonal masjid on piers.
• The tea tables - seating under the plane trees.
• The silk shops - scarves and textiles in the ground-floor cells.

When to go

April to June and September to October. Mornings for quiet; June for what remains of the cocoon trade. Shops close on Sundays, though the tea garden stays open.

Honest expectations

Much of the silk sold is not local and some is not silk - ask, and check prices against elsewhere. The courtyard is busy at midday. It is a shopping han, not a museum.

Nearby

Ulu Cami is next door; the covered bazaar and the other hans surround it.