User:SienaSwift/sandbox

Green Mosque (Turkish: Yeşil Camii, "Yeşil Mosque"), also known as Mosque of Mehmed I, is a part of the larger complex (a külliye) located 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, türbe, madrasah, kitchen and bath. The name Green Mosque was given due to the green and blue exterior tile decorations, which were later replaced.

History

The Green Mosque is often seen as the culmination of early Ottoman architectural style mainly due to the level of aesthetic and technical mastery displayed by the mosque.

The Green Mosque was commissioned in 1412 by Sultan Mehmed I Çelebi, who ruled from 1413 to 1421, after a fight against his brothers to reunite the Ottoman empire. Mehemed I was buried in a mausoleum, called the Green Tomb, commissioned by his son and successor, Murad II, which resides in the complex. The Green Mosque’s exact completion date is uncertain but it was built between 1419–1424. Decorative work continued on the mosque after Mehmed I’s death.

The construction of the Green Mosque was supervised by architect and patron of the arts vizier Hacı İvaz Pasha, who had been a commander under Mehmed I. A calligraphic inscription identifies Nakkas (the Artist) Ali bin Ilyas Ali as the supervisor of the interior tile decorations. Ali bin Ilyas Ali is believed to have brought a diverse group of craftsmen called the “Masters of Tabriz” to assist him. The "Master of Tabriz" is inscribed in Persian on the mosque's mihrab. Tabriz, a prominent artistic and cultural center in western Iran, was a particularly important channel through which Timurid influence arrived at the Green Mosque, as it was invaded by the Timurids throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. 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. A Persian inscription inside the royal loge identifies Mehmet el-Mecnun as the artist who decorated the ceramics of the mosque.

The Green Mosque is now a popular tourist destination in Bursa, which was recently named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Restorations

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. The exact completion date is unknown. Ahmet Vefik Paşa, the regional administrator of west Anatolia and a patron of the preservation of Ottoman cultural heritage, asked Parvillée to restore the major fourteenth and fifteenth century royal monuments of the city. During this period, Bursa was undergoing a transformation into a modern city.

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. The French consul of Bursa stated in 1906 that Parvillée remained in Bursa from 1862 to 1867, but this is disputed. It is unclear whether Parvillée merely planned the restoration and then left Bursa, or stayed to supervise the execution of his specifications. In any case, it is documented that Parvillée had returned to Paris by 1867 to design and build the Turkish pavilion displayed in the Exposition Universelle.

Parvillée was involved in restoring the interior and the exterior of the mosque, including the tile work. Parvillée restored the black-line tiles on the portal of the mosque. The two minarets were rebuilt on an old base by Parvillée. Polychrome painted decorations, which had previously adorned the upper parts of the walls and ceilings, were not restored.

During a second restoration project that took place from 1941-1943, the ceramic facing of the tiles was removed and reinstalled

The Green Mosque underwent another renovation, starting in 2010 and reopening on May 11, 2012, which cost 1.8 million Turkish Liras.

Hacı İvaz Pasha

Biography

Hacı İvaz Pasha was a commander turned architect, born in the town of Kazova (Tokat). He served in the Ottoman army during the rule of Bayezid I. He was the leader of the cavalry division under Prince Çelebi Mehmed (later Mehmed I) in Amasya. Appointed by Bayezid I as commander of the sub-region (sancak) of Kocaeli, he fought in the war of Ankara against Tamerlane in 1402. He became the prefect of Bursa towards the end of the princely wars (Interregnum) following Tamerlane's victorious retreat and defended the city against the Karamanoglu attacks.

In 1413, Mehmed I gained control of the Ottoman empire and established Haci Ivaz Pasha as third vizier. Ivaz Pasha became second vizier under Murad II, Mehmed I's son and successor, who ruled from 1421 to 1451. However, Murad II soon blinded Ivaz Pasha based on rumors of disloyalty. He died from the plague in 1428 and was buried in his mausoleum located in the Pinarbasi cemetery of Bursa.

Haci Ivaz Pasa is the patron of numerous public works in Bursa, Tokat, Manisa and Edirne. His endowment in Bursa is located in the market neighborhood and consists of a mosque and medrese that were financed by a han and a market that still survives under his name.

Inscriptive plaques (kitabe) on both sides of the entrance to the Green Mosque in Bursa mention Haci Ivaz Pasa as the architect of this mosque and the tomb of Mehmed I. His other works include Ipek and Geyve Hans (Market neighborhood, Bursa), the Mosque of Çelebi Sultan Mehmed (Dimetoka, Tekirdag) and the rebuilding of the Ulubad Bridge (Bursa road.) As exemplified by the work of Persian craftsmen on the Green Complex, Haci Ivaz Pasa sought to improve the architecture of the empire by bringing into the capital artists and artisans from different regions of the Islamic world.