Guide
Cumhuriyet Avenue runs through the middle of the historic inns and markets of Bursa. It opened in 1906 under the name Hamidiye and was closed to motor traffic in 2004.
The street was laid out while Mahmut Reşid Pasha was governor and took its first name in honour of Abdülhamid II. Buildings such as the grain inn and the Perşembe bath stood along it. After the second constitutional period was declared it was renamed Meşrutiyet Avenue, and in 1926 it took its present name.
Under a new plan drawn up for the markets of Bursa, the street was closed to vehicles in 2004 and given over to pedestrians. As part of the restoration and reconstruction work, air conditioning units and advertising signs were taken off the fronts of the buildings along it and windows and frames were replaced with insulated ones.
Since it was closed to traffic its social role has come to the fore rather than its commercial one, though it remains one of the important streets of Bursa for curtains and interior furnishing. Some 270 shops stand along it, most of them selling glassware, carpets and curtains.
A tram line was built along the street in 2011 to keep it served by transport, running east to west and known as the nostalgic tram line; it was later extended as far as the Davutkadı quarter. The line runs 2.4 kilometres and has five stops. The catenary poles built to power the tram also carry lighting, and because they were made suitable for hanging pictures and photographs the street can serve in part as an art gallery.
