Green Mosque, 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.[7] 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.[8]

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.[7]

Within the central hallway, the main hall contains an octagonal, white marble fountain with a pool beneath the central dome—the highest dome in the mosque—which is illuminated by a lantern overhead. On either side of the pool, two further iwans lead to rooms for traveling dervishes, while a higher raised iwan directly behind the water (when seen from the central hall's entrance) leads to the prayer hall itself.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] 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.[8] Above the niches on each side of the entrance door is an inscription dedicated to Hacı İvaz Pasha, the mosque's designer. Between the inscription and the muqarnas is a small window that illuminates the path to the sultan's box.[8]

The domes on top of the building were originally covered by blue and green tiles but are now clad in lead.[7] There are windows pierced into drums in the domes and on the exterior walls. An oculus above the ablution basin in the central hall was enclosed with a lantern at the time of restoration.[7]

The two minarets were fitted with stone spires, carved in the baroque manner, at the time of renovation. They can only be accessed through the sultan's apartments and by climbing up the winding stairs to the attics.[12]

One of the mahfils that flank the opening to the prayer hall.

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)[13] and colors (including green, blue, turquoise, white, yellow, light purple, and dark purple).[14] The black-line tiles, which compose the majority of the tiles within the mosque,[13] reflect an extensive Timurid influence that emerged through the empire's frequent invasions of Ottoman territories.[15] This influence can also be observed in Timurid ceramics[13] and architecture in Central Asia, such as the mausolea within the Shah-i Zinda shrine complex.[16] Moreover, an inscription above the mihrab designates the black-line tiles as “amal-i ustādhān-i Tabrīz” (work of the masters of Tabriz).[17] Meanwhile, the blue- and turquoise-glazed tiles in the entrance hallway and iwans, as well as the gold-adorned green hexagonal tiles in the iwans,[18] reveal a Seljuk influence (which can also be observed in the Karatay Madrasa in Konya).[19]

A roundel in the hallway connecting the vestibule to the prayer hall of the mosque.

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[20] in black-line tiles glazed in white, yellow, green, and blue.[21]

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.[22]

More of these dark green hexagonal wainscot tiles, each decorated with a thick layer of gold overlay,[21] cover the large iwans flanking the prayer hall. A narrow floral black-line band surrounds these tiles, topped by a larger black-line band featuring a white and gold inscription upon a blue background.[21]

In the prayer hall itself, dark green hexagonal and triangular tiles (including some nineteenth and thirteenth century replacements)[23] cover the lower portions of the walls.[21]

The mihrab and its moulded tile frame feature a wide array of tile styles, shapes, and colors. Square black-line tiles, glazed in blue, purple, white, and yellow, cover the mihrab's interior with geometric motifs.[18] Equally colorful vegetal arabesques, composed of square and rectangular black-line tiles, decorate the spandrels.[24] The mihrab niche's twelve rows of muqarnas and two ribbed columns[25] feature similarly intricate and colorful tilework.

In the sultan's loge, the walls and ceiling are covered in gilded[20] black-line tiles that depict motifs of stars and polygons.[24] In contrast to these geometric motifs, the black-tile border around the opening into the mosque is decorated with vegetal motifs.[23]

The tall muqarnas niche above the entrance to the mosque.

The carved niches and ocak of one of the tabhane rooms.

Carved decorations exist along all exterior elements of the mosque, from the entryway to the mihrabs to the window frames.[26] 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)[27] framing the flanking windows.[28][23] This portal, framed with floral carvings and scripture,[23] references similar portals found in Seljuk mosques, madrasas, and mausolea.[19]

The two tabhane rooms connected to the central hallway, designed to provide lodging for travelers, contain carved plaster niches and ocaks (fireplaces with a tall hood).[22] A three-line calligraphic inscription is put in an arch over one of its doors.[22]