Gürle Village

The village is located in Orhangazi district of Bursa province, 12 km south of the district center and 42 km from the city center. It is believed that the name of the village, which was under the influence of the Genoese, comes from the Italian Coralla, which means coral. According to the Cappadocian language, which is a continuation of the Luwi language, it means protrusion. As a matter of fact, the Krolla Castle conquered by Orhan Gazi, which is mentioned in Byzantine records, is also located in this village. During the foundation years of the Ottoman state, it gained importance as an accommodation place on the Bursa-Iznik road and became a center (Kaza/district) with a kadi.

Orhan Gazi built a mosque, a bathhouse (1324-1362) and probably an inn for accommodation in the village, which was a foundation of Sultan Orhan and Hüdavendigar. The mosque that Orhan Bey built just below the castle after he captured Krolla still preserves its original minaret.

Krolla, which was an important castle in the early periods, was also an important city on the road between Iznik and Gemlik. It is even known that the famous Arab traveler ibn-i Batuta, on his way from Bursa to Iznik (1335), stayed in the zawiyah of an Ahi in Gürle.