Royal seat becomes tourist trap

A simple wooden chair in a kebab shop is the latest must-see sight in Bursa, Turkey, ever since the Queen used it on a recent state visit to the country.

A one-time capital of the Ottoman Empire, Bursa already boasts significant sights.

There is the Green Mosque; the Sultans' mausoleums and the silk shops - and now in the local kebab restaurant there is the chair sat in by the Queen.

Unfortunately, the owner says, his new attraction has not boosted kebab sales.

The restaurant is next door to the mosque the Queen visited earlier this month.

Baffled

It seems staff there had not planned for her to rest her feet, and had to grab the chair from the kebab shop at the last minute.

Curious locals later came inquiring, and since then there has been a steady stream keen to have a photo in the ‘Royal' seat.

Its owner has now hung a home-made sign on it announcing: "The chair the Queen sat in".

But Mehmet Emin Sagdic told the BBC he is a bit baffled by all the interest.

And he fiercely denied local press reports he is taking money for his chair tourism.

In fact, he says, he has not even seen a surge in kebab custom off the back of it.

All the new visitors are interested in, Mehmet says, is the wooden chair.