Cika Travels!

Cika's Traditional Autumn Travel took place in October this year. As Cika employees and their families, we once again had a wonderful adventure last weekend. On the night connecting Friday, October 14th to Saturday, October 15th, we met in front of the Cika store at 03:00 and set off from Ankara. We reached Maşukiye Village, which is a natural wonder, via Bolu-Düzce-Sakarya. We said 'Hello' to the day with a nice breakfast at Selale Tesisleri. It was a great pleasure for everyone to start the day in this magnificent village where there is plenty of oxygen and we can see every shade of green. Afterwards, we turned our route to Iznik and reached the historical Iznik walls via Pamukova. These walls, which were started to be built in the 4th century BC during the Bithynia Period, took their present form with new additions in the Roman and Byzantine periods. The five-sided polygonal walls surrounding Iznik are approximately 4 thousand 970 meters long. We visited Bursa Hagia Sophia Mosque, Yeşil Çinili Mosque, Nilüfer Hatun Imaret and Süleyman Pasha Madrasa Handicrafts Bazaar, which are very close to the historical city walls. Soon after, we made our way to lunch.

During our trip to Iznik, we got tired after a long excursion program and we got a little hungry between words. As Cika Family, we took a nice break for lunch and had a feast of food. After this nice resting time, we took a photo shoot around Iznik Lake with a short walk. Lake Iznik, the largest lake in the Marmara Region and the 5th largest in Turkey, welcomed us with a magnificent view. The surroundings of Lake Iznik, which has taken on a completely different atmosphere with the pastel colors of autumn, added a pleasant pleasure to our trip. After the lake tour, we moved to Mudanya, one of the most beautiful districts of Bursa. Before settling in our hotel, we visited the beautiful Greek houses on Mudanya Pier, where we spent 1 hour of free time. The Greeks residing here before the population exchange left very special traces on the Giritli District. It was a great pleasure for us to watch the waves, which became angry with the effect of autumn, during this time period when we also enjoyed the sea. The tastes of Bursa that we ate on the beach were one of the most special aspects of this pleasure. It was a day when we couldn't get enough of the chestnut kebab, the famous ice cream halva, and fresh fruits unique to Bursa.

Lastly, we told you about the delicious fruits we ate on Mudanya Beach… After the beach, we set off for the Mudanya Heybeli Hotel, where we would stay overnight, to rest in order to have fun in the evening of the first day of our trip. After resting and getting ready, we went to Gastro Sanayi Restaurant for dinner. As the Cika Family, we played one hell of a night. We tasted the wonderful dishes of Gastro Sanayi Restaurant. The appetizers were delicious, and the dinner was different. We would like to especially thank the staff, that we have received a great service. On Sunday, we opened our eyes to the wonderful sea view of Mudanya. Meeting the sea as soon as we wake up was very good for us Ankara residents and we went down to the lobby to have breakfast right away. As the Cika Family, we had a lively breakfast by talking about the best aspects of the night and moved to Mudanya Pier again. It was time to visit historical places at Mudanya Pier, where we had a pleasant time yesterday.

After Sunday breakfast, we visited the museum, known as the Mudanya Armistice House, where İsmet Pasha also stayed. The Mudanya Armistice, which is the indicator of the first success of the GNAT Government in the political field, was signed in this house. On the first floor of the house there is the hall where the Armistice was signed and İsmet Pasha's study room, on the upper floor there is the bedroom of Ismet Pasha and his aides. There is a large statue of İsmet Pasha right across the house. This monument and its surroundings also form the center of Mudanya Pier. Then we visited Tahirpaşa Mansion, one of the historical Ottoman mansions. Thanks to this mansion, which we went on foot from Iskele, we were amazed by the beauty of the summer houses of Mudanya. It would not be possible to come to Bursa and not eat İskender and Kemalpaşa dessert. We had another feast in the lunch menu of the last day of our trip and again we preferred Gastro Sanayi Restaurant for this feast. Then we set out for Trilye, one of the places worth seeing in Bursa. Trilye, a seaside town, is a protected area and an old Greek village. We bought natural products from Trilye, which fascinates us all with its natural beauties, and we returned with our hands full. We tasted foods such as olives, jam, vinegar, mastic gum as the handiwork of the local people.

After Trilye, we turned our route to Gölyazı, this time to spend a free time again. On the way to Gölyazı, we visited the 1326 Panorama Museum on the way. In the museum, we examined important works about the foundation years of the Ottoman Empire. When we arrived in Gölyazı, we realized once again what a wonderful climate Bursa has. When we arrived in the village, olive trees greeted us. We plucked quinces, pomegranates and figs from their branches and ate them with pleasure. Here again, we tasted local delicacies and of course we couldn't resist and bought some of them. Finally, we visited Cumalıkızık Village, the end point of our trip. Cumalıkızık houses, which are located in harmony with nature in accordance with the village texture of Anatolia, which is on the UNESCO world historical heritage list, are an important cultural heritage. After visiting the village, we started our return journey. We plotted our arrival route to Ankara via İnegöl-Bozüyük-Eskişehir. On the way back, we made a lottery and presented their gifts to the winners. After our very enjoyable journey, we came to Cika store, which is our second home. We have come to the end of another trip! We, all members of the Cika Family, happily returning to our homes; First of all, we would like to thank Cihat Karadayı, the founder of Cika, and all Cika employees and their families for their great contributions to this trip. See you on our next trip.