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A Day in Gölyazı and on Lake Uluabat
Cultural

A Day in Gölyazı and on Lake Uluabat

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West of Bursa, at the eastern end of Lake Uluabat, a small peninsula reaches out into the water. The settlement on it is called Gölyazı today; in antiquity its name was Apollonia ad Rhyndacum.

Nilüfer, Bursa
Cultural
Radar Editör
September 30, 2026

About Trip

West of Bursa, at the eastern end of Lake Uluabat, a small peninsula reaches out into the water. The settlement on it is called Gölyazı today; in antiquity its name was Apollonia ad Rhyndacum. Some of its houses stand right against the ancient walls, others right at the water's edge, and in the lanes it is quite ordinary to come across old stones built into later walls. The lake itself is a wetland of international importance. Going to Gölyazı therefore means fitting two trips into one day: on one side the layers of a town some twenty-five centuries old, on the other water lily beds, bird colonies and the light falling on the water in the late afternoon.

Getting there

Gölyazı is a neighbourhood of Nilüfer district. According to the Nilüfer District Governorship, it is reached by a road of about seven kilometres that turns south off the Bursa-İzmir highway at its 35th kilometre; the Turkey Culture Portal places the turn at the 37th kilometre and gives the distance from Bursa as 42 kilometres. The difference of a few kilometres between the sources may come from where the measurement starts; what matters is that after the turn the road runs straight down to the lake shore.

If you are thinking of going by public transport, check the route and timetable on the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality transport pages before you set off, as this information changes from time to time. The old core of the settlement is a web of narrow lanes, so it is easiest to leave your car at the entrance and explore on foot. The peninsula is small and every corner of it is within easy walking distance.

From Apollonia to Gölyazı

The Culture Portal traces the settlement's history back to the 6th century BC. Its ancient name comes from the Rhyndakos, the river that feeds the lake and is known today as the Orhaneli Çayı or Kocaçay, and means "Apollonia on the Rhyndakos". According to the Culture Portal there were nine ancient cities called Apollonia in Anatolia, so the river's name served as a kind of address. English Wikipedia reports that the townspeople traced their origins to a colony founded by Miletus, and the same source notes that the town prospered in the Hellenistic period under the kingdom of Pergamon, that is, under the Attalids.

The town's coins are the most tangible witnesses to this past. The Culture Portal mentions coins of the 1st century BC minted here and bearing the image of a crayfish. The same source notes that a large number of Byzantine imperial coins have come out of the local soil. English Wikipedia adds that alongside Apollo the coins show Zeus and Demeter in the Hellenistic period and Artemis in Roman times. The Culture Portal writes that the town grew in the Roman period, while in the Byzantine period mostly buildings of that age were added to the settlement.

The date of the passage to Ottoman rule is given differently in the sources. The Culture Portal writes that Turkish rule reached the Gölyazı area after Osman Gazi's victory at Dimboz in 1303; English Wikipedia states that the town came under Ottoman control in 1342. What is certain is that the settlement joined Ottoman lands in the first half of the 14th century. The Nilüfer District Governorship adds that at the beginning of the 14th century people from around Bursa and Mudanya found refuge here. In the Ottoman period it was a mixed settlement where Greek and Turkish families lived side by side; with the population exchange of 1923 the Greek population left. In the Republican period the old name Apolyont was changed to Gölyazı. According to Turkish Wikipedia, the settlement became a municipality in 1992 and at the end of the 2000s turned into a neighbourhood of Nilüfer.

A settlement inside its walls

The first thing to keep in mind when walking around Gölyazı is that most of the ancient town lies beneath today's houses. An academic study of Lake Uluabat reports this general view and describes the settlement as ringed by two circuits of walls: an outer wall around the peninsula and inner walls around the island. Neither has survived intact, but their remains can be seen woven into the fabric of the village. The Culture Portal gives the length of the ancient walls as about 800 metres and notes that the walls may have served both for defence and against the lake's floods.

To read the walls, look closely at the masonry. According to the Culture Portal, spolia taken from older buildings were used in repairs over the centuries, and Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman workmanship interlock in places. The same source names Simitçikale on the north side as the most important tower and notes another tower in the square. It also stresses that the walls are intertwined with the traditional houses; telling where the wall of a house ends and the fortification begins often takes a careful look.

There are traces beyond the walls as well. The Culture Portal and the Nilüfer District Governorship mention a structure thought to be an aqueduct and known locally as Deliktaş, an ancient castle gate called Taş Kapı, the remains of an ancient theatre, and the ruins of a temple of Apollo on Kız Adası, about a kilometre offshore. Turkish Wikipedia also lists the necropolis and stone sarcophagi on Zambak Tepesi. The academic study adds a necropolis with different types of Greek and Roman graves, remains of a theatre and a stadium, and from the Ottoman period a bathhouse, a windmill and the Gölyazı Mosque. According to an announcement by Nilüfer Municipality in the summer of 2026, excavations are continuing at the ancient theatre.

The settlement's protected status reflects this richness. According to the same study, Gölyazı was registered as an Urban Archaeological Site in 1998; it has 87 buildings registered as examples of civil architecture and 17 trees registered as natural monuments. The best known of these is the monumental plane tree at the entrance to the bridge. Known locally as the "weeping plane tree", its age is given as 750 years on the Bursa Governorship's page and as 400 years on the Nilüfer District Governorship's page; whatever its exact age, its shade is the first thing that greets you as you enter the village.

The Aziz Panteleimon building on the western slope of Zambak Tepesi is used today as Nilüfer Municipality's Gölyazı Culture House. According to the municipality, it was built between 1908 and 1918 for a new neighbourhood planned after a fire on the island in 1900; its architect was Dimitrios Papadopoulos of Dereköy. Left in ruins for many years, the building was restored in 2009 and opened as a culture house in 2014. Inside, photographs and documents on Gölyazı's past are on display, and temporary exhibitions, workshops and concerts are held. Check the opening hours on the municipality's website.

Uluabat, a Ramsar lake

The water around Gölyazı is, in the words of the academic study, one of Turkey's most important wetlands. Turkish Wikipedia describes Lake Uluabat as a shallow freshwater lake of about 136 square kilometres, with an average depth of two and a half metres and a deepest point of around ten metres. According to English Wikipedia, the Mustafakemalpaşa River feeds the lake from the southwest, and surplus water leaves through the outlet on the west to reach the Sea of Marmara by way of the Susurluk River. The number of islands in the lake is given differently in the sources, but they agree that the largest is Halilbey Adası.

According to the 2nd Regional Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks, 19,900 hectares of the lake were declared a Wetland of International Importance on 15 April 1998 and placed under protection within the Ramsar Convention. The academic study notes that the lake meets four of the convention's nine criteria: chief among them are that it holds endangered species, regularly hosts large numbers of waterbirds and is an important habitat for fish.

The lake has the most extensive water lily beds in Turkey. According to the same study, white water lilies cover very large areas, especially along the northeastern shores and at the mouth where the Mustafakemalpaşa River enters the lake. If you want to see the lily beds, time your visit for the warm months when the plant opens its leaves and flowers.

Birds, storks and fishers

Uluabat is Turkey's most important breeding ground for the pygmy cormorant, a species threatened on a global scale, and one of the important feeding and wintering areas of the Dalmatian pelican, which is also threatened. English Wikipedia reports that a count in June 1998 recorded 823 pairs of pygmy cormorant, 105 pairs of night heron, 109 pairs of squacco heron and 48 pairs of spoonbill. Mammals such as the otter, golden jackal, fox, badger and hare also live around the lake.

Storks are the most familiar face of this landscape. According to Turkish Wikipedia, Gölyazı has taken part in the Stork-Friendly Villages Project since 2004; in spring and summer the stork nests are part of the village scenery. The academic study also notes that an international stork festival is held every May in Eskikaraağaç on the far shore of the lake, and that there is a bird-watching tower there. To watch birds, bringing binoculars and keeping away from the nests is enough; storks may seem used to people, but they should not be disturbed while nesting.

Gölyazı lives from farming, fishing and tourism. The Bursa Governorship writes that pike, carp and a small fish the villagers call feki live in the lake. Turkish Wikipedia stresses that about thirty per cent of the active fishers on Uluabat are women, which is distinctive for the Marmara region. According to the same source, the fishers go out on the lake every day in small fibreglass boats, except during fishing bans and public holidays; the boats pulled up on the shore are therefore not a photo backdrop but part of an ongoing daily life.

A walk along the lake shore

The peninsula is best understood on foot. Start under the monumental plane tree at the head of the bridge and follow the shore around the island, with the lake on one side and houses leaning against the walls on the other. In the lanes running in from the shore, look for spolia and fragments of wall, then climb towards Zambak Tepesi and stop at the culture house. As you climb, the shape of the peninsula within the lake becomes easier to read. According to the academic study, local people also offer rowing boat trips on the lake; seen from the water, it is easier to appreciate how close the walls and houses stand to the lake. The same source notes that villagers set up stalls selling farm produce, fish and local foods.

Sunset, season and time of day

Because Gölyazı sits at the eastern end of the lake, the water opens out to the west and in the late afternoon the sun sets over it. It is therefore a good idea to plan the day around the afternoon: first walk the lanes and the ruins, then wait for the sunset on the shore or on the slope of the hill. Spring and summer are the more rewarding seasons for storks and water lilies, and spring and autumn for migrating birds. In winter visitors thin out and the everyday rhythm of the village is easier to sense. The academic study notes that visitor numbers to Gölyazı have grown in recent years; if you want a quiet visit, choose a weekday.

Practical notes

Gölyazı is not a museum but a neighbourhood where people live. Do not walk into courtyards, and ask permission when taking photographs in front of doorways. The walls and ruins are registered cultural assets; do not climb on them, and do not touch or move their stones. The reed beds along the shore are where birds feed and shelter, so stay out of them and take your rubbish back with you. If you plan a long walk along the shore in summer, carry a hat and water; while waiting for the sunset, a light extra layer against the evening cool also comes in handy.

Sources

Location - A Day in Gölyazı and on Lake Uluabat

Trip Info
CityNilüfer, Bursa
TypeCultural
DateSeptember 30, 2026
SourceRadar Editör
Radar TürkiyeAuthorRadar TürkiyeVisit SourceGet Directions