Yeşil Türbe

Yeşil Türbe
Yeşil Türbe (Green Tomb)
Basic information
Location	Bursa, Turkey
Affiliation	Islam
Architectural description
Architectural type	Türbe
Architectural style	Islamic, Ottoman architecture
Completed	1421
Specifications
Dome height (outer)	25 m
Materials	stone, tiles, marble

Yeşil Türbe (Green Tomb) is a mausoleum of the fifth Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed I, in Bursa, Turkey. 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.^[1]

Architecture

Set amidst cypresses on top of the hill in Yeşil neighborhood in Bursa, 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 Kütahya tiles following damage in the Earthquake of Bursa 1855.^[2] The entry portal is crowned with semi-umbrella vault and has muqarnas niches above marble seats on both side of entrance. İznik tiles with flower patterns in blue, white and yellow adorn the portal.

Inside, past the carved wooden doors, the royal catafalque stands on a platform at the center surrounded by seven other tombs. It is richly decorated with scriptures and flower designs painted in yellow, white and blue glazed tiles. The lower section of walls is lined with blue-green tiles, also used in tympana of windows on the interior. The muqarnas niche of mihrab on the qibla wall is also set in a large frame of ornamental tilework: the mosaic of tiles inside the niche depicts a garden of roses, carnations and hyacinths. The chandelier and the colored glass windows are later additions.

Notes

References

"Green Tomb, Bursa, Turkey". ArchNet.org. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
Baykal, Kazim. Bursa ve Anitlari. Türkiye Anit Çevre Turizm Degerlerini Koruma Vakfi: 1982, Istanbul. (Edited reprint of original from 1950) .
Goodwin, Godfrey. A History of Ottoman Architecture. Thames and Hudson: London, 1997 (reprint of 1971).
Gabriel, Albert. Une Capitale Turque, Brousse, Bursa. Paris, E. de Boccard, 1958.

External links

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