Made in Bursa : Candied Chestnut

• Candied chestnut made from the famous chestnuts of the skirts of Uludag is prepared with the chestnuts that are boiled inside the sweetened juice. Varieties of candied chestnuts are the characteristic sweets of Bursa. Produced in homes for centuries, the candied chestnuts were being produced, as double, to sell in 1900s. Master Confectioner Hakki Efendi of Bursa was the first to succeed in making the double candied chestnut and won a gold medal with his product at the Bursa Exposition. And later on, Rasim Oztat, owner of the Ulus Patisserie, improved the candied chestnut. However, spreading the candied chestnut all over the world as a brand was done by the Kafkas Patisserie

Turkish towels to the world: Bursa (Özdilek Company)

• Established in 1971 in Bursa, Ozdilek is Turkey’s largest company within the towel industry with its production volume of 9,000 tons a year, 3,860 employees, 37 million dollars of export volume and 150 million dollars of financial turnover. When you look at the world market, Ozdilek is among the first 10 companies.

• Besides being the largest towel and bathrobe manufacturer in Turkey, it is one of the fastest growing retailers of the country with its 3,860 employees in nine (9) shopping centers situated on a 60,000 m² area. When Ozdilek was established in 1971, it had five (5) employees and two (2) Bursa-made weaving looms and an annual production volume of 10 tons. Today, it fulfills 18% of Turkey’s towel production with its 9,000 tons of annual production volume and modern integrated facilities. Along with this success, it has become a worldwide brand with its towels and bathrobes it exports to over 20 countries, especially to United States and with these exports exceeding 37 million dollars.

İskender Kebap• İskender kebab is one of the most famous meat foods

of northwestern Turkey and takes its name from its inventor, İskender Efendi, who lived in Bursa in the late 19th century. It can be assumed to be derived from a verticalized version Cağ Kebabı, from Erzurum.

• It is a kind of döner kebab prepared from thinly cut grilled lamb basted with hot tomato sauce over pieces of pita bread and generously slathered with melted sheep butter and yogurt. Additionally, one cylindrical köfte can be placed on top. It is commonly consumed with şıra as a drink to aid digestion. Tomato sauce and boiling butter are sometimes poured over the dish, at the table

• "Kebapçı İskender" is trademarked by Yavuz İskenderoğlu, whose family still runs the restaurant in Bursa. This dish is available in many restaurants throughout the country mostly under the name "İskender kebap", "Bursa kebabı", or at times with an alternative one made up by the serving restaurant such as "Uludağ kebabı". from top to bottom with a special knife.

The Ottoman Shadow Play and its Turkish descendants

• The Turkish tradition of shadow play called Karagöz and Hacivat was widespread throughout the Ottoman Empire and featured characters representing all of the major ethnic and social groups in that culture. It was performed by a single puppet master, who voiced all of the characters, and accompanied by tambourine (def). Its origins are obscure, deriving perhaps from an older Egyptian tradition, or possibly from an Asian source.

• During the 19th century these characters were adapted to the Greek language and culture, Karagöz and Hacivat becoming Karagiozis and Hadjiavatis with each of the characters assuming stereotypically Greek personalities. This tradition thrived throughout Greece after independence as popular entertainment for a largely adult audience, particularly before competition arose from television. The stories did, however, retain the period setting in the late years of the Ottoman Empire. Karagiozis theatre has undergone some revival in recent years, with the intended audience tending to be largely juvenile.