Green Mosque, Bursa

Mosque in Bursa, Turkey
the mosque of the same name in Iznik

The Green Mosque (Yeşil Camii), also known as the Mosque of Mehmed I, is a part of a larger complex (külliye) on the east side of Bursa, Turkey, the former capital of the Ottoman Turks before they captured Constantinople in 1453. The complex consists of a mosque, a mausoleum known as the Green Tomb, a madrasa, a public kitchen, and a bathhouse. The name Green Mosque comes from its green and blue interior tile decorations. It is part of the historic UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Green Mosque is often seen as the culmination of the early Ottoman architectural style, mainly due to the level of aesthetic and technical mastery displayed within the mosque. The Green Mosque was commissioned by Sultan Mehmed I Çelebi, who ruled from 1413 to 1421, after a fight against his brothers to reunite the Ottoman Empire. The mosque's construction was begun in 1412 and, according to the inscription over its entrance portal, it was completed in December 1419 or January 1420 (Dhu'l Hijja 822 AH). Construction was supervised by architect and patron of the arts vizier Hacı İvaz Pasha, who had been a commander under Mehmed I. Upon his death, Mehmed I was buried in a mausoleum called the Green Tomb, commissioned by his son and successor, Murad II, located within the complex. Decorative work continued on the mosque after Mehmed I's death. Hacı İvaz Pasha was also reported to have “brought masters and men of skill from foreign lands” to help with the mosque's construction, according to 15th century historian Aşıkpaşazade. Scholar Patricia Blessing notes that the exact roles played by each person named in the inscriptions is still not certain, as the terminology used in these historical texts is not fully understood today.

Due to the 7.5 magnitude Bursa earthquake of 1855, the complex underwent extensive renovations planned by French architect and artist Léon Parvillée, beginning in 1863. Parvillée first visited the Ottoman capital of Istanbul in 1851, later moving there in 1855. He worked in the empire as a decorator, contractor and architect. Parvillée was well versed in the main aspects of early Ottoman style due to his experiences living and working in the region as well as his extensive research of the subject. Parvillée was involved in restoring the interior and the exterior of the mosque, including the tile work.

The Green Mosque is now a popular tourist destination in Bursa. Since 2014 it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site designated around historic Bursa.

The Green Mosque is based on an inverted T plan and is a two story, cube shaped building with an extension on the south side. The mosque has a vestibule at the entrance leading up a short staircase to a central prayer hall. This stairway has four marble cubby holes (Turkish: papuçluk) on each side for slippers. These architectural inclusions point to the court being paved previously, although it is now carpeted. The central hall, which runs from north to south, is flanked by iwans (Turkish: eyvans) on the east and west. Both are domed and two stories high. There are two doors, smaller iwans, connecting to corner rooms on the first floor that are similar to those on the north side of the building, each containing a fireplace. The central hallway running north–south is intersected by a longer hallway running east–west. In this iwan, there is a mihrab niche on the south (qibla) side of the mosque, as well as two sets of four windows. Immediately past the entrance of the Green Mosque lies a foyer. From here, wide corridors, framed by Byzantine columns, extend in both directions, ending in staircases leading to the royal chambers. These corner rooms overlook the interior court, and connect to yet another small room leading to the royal box, which effectively functions as another iwan. These chambers contain the winding stairways leading up to the lofts. Between these corner rooms, a passage opens to the balconies on the northern façade where the minaret steps begin. The two minarets opposite from each other on the north facade were later additions. A porch was designed but never built.

Marble panels, a majority of which were replaced in the nineteenth century, overlay the mosque's edifice of hewn sandstone. The door is crowned by a half dome with a cascade of muqarnas, whose face is covered with arabesques and Rumi inscriptions.

The Green Mosque employs a distinctively diverse range of tile techniques (including black line tiles (often mistaken for, yet technically separate from cuerda seca tiles), monochrome underglaze tiles, mosaic, and painted terra cotta relief) and colors (including green, blue, turquoise, white, yellow, light purple, and dark purple). The black line tiles, which compose the majority of the tiles within the mosque, This influence can also be observed in Timurid ceramics Moreover, an inscription above the mihrab designates the black line tiles as amal i ustādhān i Tabrīz ("work of the masters of Tabriz"), accompanied by a couplet from the Persian poet Sa'di. reveal a Seljuk influence (which can also be observed in the Karatay Madrasa in Konya).

In the hallway connecting the vestibule to the prayer hall, dark green hexagonal tiles cover the walls, punctuated by a large roundel in the center of each wall. These roundels feature an intricate floral arabesque in black line tiles glazed in white, yellow, green, and blue. The recessed mahfils that flank the opening into the prayer hall are covered in similar dark green hexagonal wainscot tiles with gold decoration, with a large, intricate arabesque on each ceiling. More of these dark green hexagonal wainscot tiles, each decorated with a thick layer of gold overlay, cover the lower portions of the walls. The mihrab niche's twelve rows of muqarnas and two ribbed columns feature similarly intricate and colorful tilework. In the sultan's loge, the walls and ceiling are covered in gilded The front portal of the mosque is made of carved marble and features a tall, recessed muqarnas niche, with unique marble tympana (decorated with arabesques) framing the flanking windows. A burial chamber or crypt (usually off limits to visitors today) is located beneath the floor of the main chamber where the cenotaphs are located. In addition to the sultan's burial, the mausoleum contains the tombs of his sons Mustafa, Mahmud, and Yusuf, as well as several women of his family and his nanny. It currently houses the Bursa Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art.

The hammam of the complex is located east of the Green Tomb, while the imaret is located to the northeast of the tomb. Only partials remains have been preserved from the original structures of both these buildings.