The city of Bursa, which lies at the foot of a great mountain in northwest Turkey, was once capital of the Ottoman Empire, and its historic buildings bear witness to an illustrious past. Here you can wander through the courtyards of hans where merchants exchanged their wares, and the covered bazaar whose shadowy passages smell of silk and spices; past Turkish baths with their steaming basins, and old mosques with their tinkling fountains. After greeting the resting places of the early Ottoman sultans, the winding hill which descends from Muradiye to Tophane seems to take pause at the high walls of a great mosque. The 17th century writer Evliya Çelebi described Bursa as the fifth holy city after Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem and Damascus, and Ulu Mosque symbolises this aspect of the city. The covered bazaar and historic hans in the maze of back streets behind the mosque bring you face-to-face with six centuries of history.

If you climb the steps up to the northward facing terrace of İpek Han (the Silk Exchange), you get a marvellous view of Bursa's two main landmarks: the towering mass of Mount Uludağ, the ancient Bythinian Olympus, and standing in its protective embrace the Ulu Mosque. The cool breeze from above seems to tell the myths and legends of the mountain, and go on to the story of the mosque.
As the story goes, on the eve of the Battle of Niğbolu in 1396, Sultan Yıldırım Bayezid was praying for victory, and vowed that if his wish was granted he would use the spoils of war to build twenty mosques in the city. The battle was won, but Emir Sultan, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammed, advised the sultan to build not twenty mosques but a single great mosque with twenty domes. Construction took four years. Ulu Mosque is one of the most important examples of early Ottoman architecture.

Measuring 55 by 69 metres, its thick outer walls are built entirely of ashlar stone. Each wall has pairs of windows arranged in two courses in niches with pointed arches. Of the two tall minarets flanking the north façade, one was built at the same time as the mosque itself, while that at the east corner was added a few years later, probably by Çelebi Mehmet. The imposing portal dominating the north façade was badly damaged by fire, and in subsequent repairs over the centuries has lost its original character. There are two other plainer doors in the east and west façades.
The domes are just over 10 metres in diameter. The central dome facing the side doors has an open top with a lantern. This is located above the sixteen-sided marble pool which is surrounded by a platform and railings.

Having gazed your fill at this lovely pool on first entering the mosque, your attention is drawn to the intricate inscriptions on the columns and walls, some in large scale sülüs and talik scripts by renowned calligraphers Mustafa İzzet, Abdülfettah and Şefik. Altogether the mosque contains 192 inscription panels by 40 calligraphers, including two women, İslimyeli İffet Hatun and Hatice Huriye Hanım. Most of these inscriptions date from the 19th century, and those by Mahmud, Hoca Ali and Kâtipzade Hasan are known to date from just before the earthquake of 1855, in which two of the domes collapsed and cracks were caused in the domes, drums and arches. This damage was repaired on the orders of Sultan Abdülmecid. But the greatest damage suffered by the mosque throughout its long history occurred soon after it was built, in the early 15th century.

Following the defeat of Yıldırım Bayezid by Timur's armies in 1402, the mosque was used as a stable by Timur's soldiers, and in the subsequent revolt of the Karamanoğulları principality against the Ottomans Bursa was occupied, and the rebels piled wood against the walls of the mosque and set it alight.
The mihrap (prayer niche) of Ulu Mosque is magnificent, with eight rows of stalactite carving. This niche underwent repairs and extensive alterations following the 1855 earthquake, and again in 1904, when it was decorated with gilding and inscriptions by Mehmet Usta. The wooden minber (pulpit) of the mosque is a masterpiece by Muhammed bin Abdülaziz of Gaziantep, whose work can also be seen in Manisa Ulu Mosque. On the east side of the minber is an unusual carved panel depicting the solar system with the nine planets then known. The müezz'sng gallery facing the minber was built in 1549, and the marble raised seat for delivering sermons facing the gallery dates from 1815.

Having captured the enchantment of Bursa in this ancient mosque, it is time to continue exploring the old city, where past centuries seem as vivid as the present.

* Ersin Toker is a freelance writer