ULU CAMI (GRAND MOSQUE)

BURSA, TURKEY

Ulu Cami is the largest mosque in Bursa and a landmark of early Ottoman architecture which used many elements from the Seljuk architecture.

Ordered by Sultan Bayezid I, the mosque was designed and built by architect Ali Neccar in 1396–1399.

It is a large rectangular building, with twenty domes arranged in four rows of five that are supported by twelve columns.

Supposedly the twenty domes were built instead of the twenty separate mosques which Sultan Bayezid I had promised for winning the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396.

The mosque has two minarets.

There is also a fountain (sadirvan) inside the mosque where worshipers can perform ritual ablutions before prayer; the dome over the şadırvan is capped by a skylight which creates a soft light below, playing an important role in the illumination of the large building.

The horizontally spacious and dimly lit interior is designed to feel peaceful and contemplative.

The subdivisions of space formed by multiple domes and pillars create a sense of privacy and even intimacy. -- Wikipedia

GREEN TOMB

BURSA

The Green Tomb (Yeşil Türbe) is a mausoleum of the fifth Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed I.

It was built by Mehmed's son and successor Murad II following the death of the sovereign in 1421.

The architect, Hacı Ivaz Pasha designed the tomb and the Yeşil Mosque opposite to it.

Set amidst cypresses on top of the hill in Yeşil neighborhood, the mausoleum stands higher than the rest of the complex. 

It is built on a hexagonal plan and crowned with a hemi-spherical dome. 

The exterior of the mausoleum is clad with green-blue tiles that give it its name. 

A majority of the tiles were replaced by contemporary Kutahya tiles following damage in the 1855 Bursa earthquake.

--Wikipedia

ORHAN GAZI

TOMB IN BURSA, TURKEY

Orhan Gazi was the 2nd sultan in the Ottoman Emptire.

He ruled for more than three decades of the middle 14th century.

KOZA KHAN

BURSA, TURKEY

There are 50 ground-floor rooms in the han.

Those at the corners have panelled square vaults, while the others have barrel vaults oriented perpendicular to the courtyard.

There are porticoes in front of the rooms and on the four sides of the courtyard.

On the second floor, there are 54 rooms including the rooms on either side of the portal.

The portico on the upper story is covered by a series of domes supported on square pillars.

-- www.discoverislamicart.org

KOZA KHAN

BURSA, TURKEY

Koza Han, koza meaning literally 'silk cocoon', was founded by Sultan Bayezid II as a waqf (or pious foundation) to fund his imaret in Istanbul.

It was completed in 1491 and was the center of the silk trade for centuries.

In the center of the courtyard is an octagonal kiosk-masjid supported on eight stone pillars connected to each other by arches.

Beneath the mosque is an octagonal fountain with an additional pillar in its center.

The masjid is accessed by a marble stairway and is covered with a dome.

Adapted from www.discoverislamicart.org

GREEN MOSQUE

BURSA

The architectural style known as Bursa Style begins with Green Mosque.

The mosque is based on a reverse T-plan with a vestibule at the entrance leading to a central hall flanked by eyvans on the east and west and a larger eyvan with mihrab niche on the south.

Two small eyvans flank the entryway above which the royal box (hünkar mahfili) is located.

There are four rooms with fireplaces to the north and south of side eyvans accessed through the vestibule and the central hall respectively.

Stairs on both sides of the vestibule lead to the upper floor where the royal lodge and two adjacent rooms for the royal women are located.

Here, a passage opens to the balconies on the northern façade where the minaret steps begin.

--Wikipedia

GREEN MOSQUE

BURSA

The Yeşil Mosque can be shown as the perfect blend between architecture and embellishment, the proof that such works of art were produced in a country where the battles between siblings had come to an end and peace had returned.

It was commissioned By Sultan Mehmed I Celebi and completed in December 1419 or January 1420.

The mosque was built between 1419–1421 by architect vezir Haci Ivaz Pasha. 

-Wiki