12/01/2026
The Silk Route flew off to freezing Türkiye in December to travel the Ancient Silk Road and bring back beautiful treasures for the silk lovers.
First stop was… BURSA
Adventures on the Silk Road: Bursa December 2025
I no longer get butterflies or feel excited about traveling...instead, I look forward to it, definitely, but with a sense of gratitude, longing, calm, comfort and healing rather than animated joy.
Traveling is definitely therapy for me... as a friend shared a quote the other day: “if you can’t afford a therapist, book a flight and cry in another country”
A new country, a foreign language, tasty local food, the sights and sounds of the strange wonderous and peculiar as well as being anonymous, is an absolute joy for me... it is humbling and most educational.
Your travel company is oh so important too, because it can serve to enhance your experience or turn it into a horror show!
Fortunately for me, I have my favourite travel buddy with me... we’re so different in personalities and many other ways, but we share common loves too... travel, new experiences and history being a few of them.
When traveling with someone or in a group, one must learn to compromise, be accommodating and patient... 🤲🏼🙏🏼
My travel buddy and I both love Türkiye because it ticks all our boxes and it’s like coming home for us... so an easy trip to prepare for.
My passion for silk, and my travel buddy’s kind and willing nature determined that Bursa would be on our itinerary.
Bursa like most Turkish cities have histories that date back to antiquity.... 6000 BC according to historical accounts....but it is Bursa’s fame as a major city on the ancient Silk Road that fascinates me and calls be back.
Bursa has been producing Silk since Roman times and became a major trading hub for silk during Ottoman times.
Sultan Beyazid II commissioned the construction of the Koza Han in 1490 which served to facilitate the trade of silkworm cocoons, hence the name (koza) as well as silk textiles.
It was Beyazid’s intention that the revenues of the Koza Han would be earmarked to finance the upkeep of his mosque complex in Istanbul.
…Continued in comments.
