TP17: Sultan Mehmet I Masjid aka Green Masjid

The Sultan Mehmet I Masjid also known as Green Mosque, which is actually beige from outside, was built between 1491-1421 by architect Haci Ivaz Pasa. Located just in front of the Hunkar restaurant and rows of other restaurants, the Masjid is significantly important to the community in many aspects.
It was about ‘Asar prayer time. We went in and I’ve tried to ask one of the men whom I thought was one of the Masjid important men about the prayer time. He responded in Turkish with brief sign language, which I interpreted as ‘the time is soon’. Thus, M Afiq and I decided to wait, but ‘Afi and M Asri performed their Zuhur-‘Asar straight away. 5 minutes later, we heard the prayer call from the nearby Masjid. Waited patiently, I asked myself when are they (this Masjid) going to commence the prayer call – azan? The earlier elderly man that I met came to me and signaled to me that the Azan was over. Puzzled and disappointed, M Afiq and I performed our part. Azan is one of the Prophet Muhammad saw (peace be upon him)’s tradition or sunnah. It is very encouraged by him to make the prayer call 5 times daily to alert, remind and call all Muslim to perform their 5 times obligatory prayers. What a disappointment, no azan in such a great Masjid.
The Masjid was commissioned by Sultan Mehmet I and completed in December 1419. The artists of painted decorations were Ali bin Ilyas and Mehmed el Mecnun. The building went under extensive renovation following the earthquake in 1855, led by architect Parveillée. The governor of Bursa then, Ahmet Vefik Pasha was unable to find a qualified Turkish architect. Parvillée managed to save the mosque but he lacked of experience of the Seljukian and early Ottoman architecture. He was also hampered by shortages of money and skilled labor.
The design layout of the Masjid is based on a reverse T-plan with a vestibule at entrance leading to a central hall flanked by eyvans on the east and west and a larger eyvan with mihrab niche on the south. Two small eyvans flank the entryway above which the royal box is located.
The interior of the mosque is decorated with a mosaic of blue green tiles on walls and ceiling of eyvans from which it gets its name.

The Masjid can be shown as the perfect blend between architecture and embellishment, the proof that such works of art were produced in a country where the battles between siblings had come to an end and peace had returned.