After its project to light up the historic Tophane Saat Kulesi (Tophane Clock Tower) in the Turkish city of Bursa, municipal authorities have now decided to do the same for Bursa’s grand mosques -- the Ulu Cami (Great Mosque) and the Emir Sultan Mosque -- following a deluge of positive responses from locals and tourists alike after the clock tower’s illumination.The clock tower was lit up to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Sultan Abdulhamid’s ascension to the Ottoman throne on Aug. 31, 1906. The lighting up of the six-storey high Tophane Clock Tower took place with a ceremony at which the province’s governor, Reşit Mümtaz, was present. People will soon be able to appreciate the two historic mosques in all their glory in the evening also. The Ulu Cami, built by Yıldırım Beyazıt Han in 1402, is an exquisite sight and one of Bursa’s most visited tourist attractions -- with foreign and domestic tourists flocking to the historic building. The Seljuk-style masterpiece now lights up Bursa’s Atatürk Street. In addition to the mosque’s now completed lighting work, the areas surrounding the mosque have been tidied up.
“In Europe you are able to see the same building during night, since buildings are always illuminated in Europe,” said the mayor of Bursa, Recep Altepe. He also added that lighting up buildings at night goes back centuries in Europe and announced that the municipality was going shine light on other buildings, too, since it wants to show the beauty of Bursa’s historic buildings after the sun sets. The Yeşil, Muradiye, Yıldırım and Murad I mosques and the Abdal, Boyacıkulluğu and Tatarlar bridges are some of the other historic structures inline for illumination. “Bursa’s daytime silhouette will remain the same at night,” said Altepe.
