Prayer hall of the Grand Mosque or Ulu Cami, built 1396-99 under the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I by the architect Ali Neccar in the Seljuk style, Bursa, Turkey. Here we see some of the 192 monumental wall inscriptions written by the famous calligraphers of that period and the fountain (sadirvan) where worshipers can perform ritual ablutions before prayer. The mosque is a large rectangular building with 2 minarets, and 20 domes supported by 12 columns. Supposedly the 20 domes were built instead of the 20 separate mosques which Sultan Bayezid I had promised for winning the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. The dome over the sadirvan is capped by a skylight creating a soft light which illuminates the large building. The mosque is in the old city centre of Bursa and remains the largest mosque in the city. Picture by Manuel Cohen
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