User:HannibalB216/sandbox

Architecture

The Green Mosque is based on an inverted T-plan and is a two-story building cube shaped with an extension on the south side. The mosque has a vestibule at the entrance leading to a central prayer hall. This stairway has four marble cubby-holes (papuçluk) on each side for slippers. These architectural inclusions point to the the court being paved previously although it is now carpeted.[5] The central hall is flanked by iwans (Turkish: eyvans) on the east and west. Both are domed and two stories high, and there are two doors connecting to corner rooms similar to those on the north side of the building. Through the shorter hallway running north-south, the main hall contains an octagonal, white marble fountain with a pool beneath the central dome, the highest dome in the mosque, illuminated by a lantern lying overhead. On either side of the pool, further iwans lead to rooms for traveling dervishes, while a higher raised iwan directly behind the water leads to the prayer hall itself. There is a larger iwan with a mihrab niche on the south (qibla) side of the mosque containing two sets of four windows. There are doors, smaller iwans connecting to corner rooms on the first floor each containing a fireplace. The hallway running north-south is intersected by a longer hallway running east-west.

Immediately past the entrance of the Yesil Cami 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 a third iwan. These superior chambers contain the winding stairways leading up to the lofts.

This east-west hall vestibule contains stairs on both sides which lead to the second floor where there are two side rooms near each set of stairs. 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. The domes on top of the building were originally covered by blue and green tiles but are now clad in lead.

Exterior

Marble panels, a majority of were replaced in the nineteenth century, overlay the mosques edifice of hewn sandstone.

The door is crowned by a half-dome with a cascade of muqarnas whose face is covered with with arabesque inscriptions in Rumi scripts.

Between the inscription and the mocárabes is a small window that illuminates the path to the sultan's box. Above the niches on each side of the entrance door is an inscription dedicated to Hacı İvaz Pasha, the mosque's designer.

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.

The two minarets are later additions to the building. They were both rebuilt on an old base by Parvillée. They have been 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 the climbing up the winding stairs to the attics.

Carved decorations exist along all exterior elements of the mosque, from the entryway to the mihrabs to the window frames.

= Final Draft = Layout

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 down 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 the court being paved previously although it is now carpeted. The central hall is flanked by iwans (Turkish: eyvans) on the east and west. Both are domed and two stories high, and there are two doors, smaller iwans, connecting to corner rooms on the first floor similar to those on the north side of the building, each containing a fireplace. The hallway running north-south is intersected by a longer hallway running east-west. Through the shorter hallway running north-south, the main hall contains an octagonal, white marble fountain with a pool beneath the central dome--the highest dome in the mosque--illuminated by a lantern lying 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 entrance leads to the prayer hall itself. There is a larger iwan with a mihrab niche on the south (qibla) side of the mosque containing two sets of four windows. Immediately past the entrance of the Yesil Cami 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 a third iwan. These superior 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. The domes on top of the building were originally covered by blue and green tiles but are now clad in lead.

Exterior

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 with arabesques and inscriptions in Rumi scripts. 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.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. The two minarets are later additions to the building that have been 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. Carved decorations exist along all exterior elements of the mosque, from the entryway to the mihrabs to the window frames.

Notes

Freely, John (2010). A History of Ottoman Architecture. Boston: WIT Press. p. 60. ISBN 9781845645069 1845645065

Goodwin, Godfrey (1971). A History of Ottoman Architecture. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. p. 60. ISBN 080181202X 9780801812026

More on structure of the domes. How the minarets connect to the rest of the structure. Exterior decorations. Question of how much more to add for these sections, if more information needed beyond current sources and how to structure current information. Also question of reader accessibility, as accounts of the architecture are a never-ending series of descriptions of stair connections and domes.