Narrative of Travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa, in the Seventeenth Century, Vol. II — John Shaqi
Narrative of Travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa, in the Seventeenth Century, Vol. IIEvliya Çelebi
History
Narrative of Travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa, in the Seventeenth Century, Vol. II
Evliya Çelebi
Caucasus, South -- Description and travel; Istanbul (Turkey) -- Description and travel; Turkey -- History
On the west side of Brússa at half an hour’s distance, in a separate
suburb called Eski Kaplijah is Sultán Murád’s mosque, built in a
peculiar style, because the architect was a Frank. The lower part is
devoted to worship, the upper devoted to science, is distributed into
rooms for students, so that each may follow the Imám’s directions at
prayer. The length from the Kiblah to the mihráb is one hundred feet,
and the breadth seventy feet. On one of the columns appears a falcon,
which having been recalled by Sultán Murád I. and not obeying, was by
his curse changed into stone. This mosque has one gate, and a mináreh
one story high, but no courtyard.
_Description of the Mosque of Sultán Báyazíd I._
It is a small mosque, situate on the East side of Brússa, surrounded by
fields and gardens, and not much frequented on account of its distance
from the town; it is one hundred and fifty feet long and one hundred in
width, in the old simple style, and remained unfinished during the war
of Timúr, but was completed by Mússa Ilderím’s son.
_The Mosque of Mohammed I._
This celebrated and elegant mosque, known by the name of Yeshil Imáret
(the green building) entirely built of marble, stands upon a hill on
the East side of Brússa, and has two cupolas without columns, one
hundred and eight feet long and eighty feet in width. It is impossible
to give an idea of the mihráb (altar) and minber (pulpit) because the
carving is beyond all conception; the only gate is also ornamented with
such elegant arabesque carvings, that they could not be represented
finer even by the pen on Chinese paper. The stone-cutter who worked
this gate, spent full three years on it, during which he received forty
thousand ducats from Mohammed I. as is generally reported; in short,
there is no mosque of more elegant and exquisite workmanship in the
world. The reason of its being named the green building, arises from
the cupola and the mináreh being covered with green fayence which
radiates like emeralds in sunshine. Tall plane trees surround the
outside. I saw no finer mosque in Brússa, and other travellers say no
where else.
_Description of the Mosque of Murád II. the son of Mohammed I._
On the west side of the town is a certain suburb composed of this
mosque and its appurtenances of colleges, kháns and gardens. The
builder was Murád II. the son of Mohammed I. and father of Mohammed II.
who died at Adrianople and was buried here. It is a holy mosque and
has two cupolas. From the gate of the Kiblah to the mihráb the length
is one hundred and fifty feet, the width sixty. The (mihráb) altar,
(minber) pulpit and station of the Muëzzins (mahfil) are in the ancient
simple style, built in the year 850 (1446). Tall plane-trees adorn the
courtyard. Many Princes of the Ottoman family are buried here.
_The Mosque of Emír Sultán._
This mosque is built on a mound and is the last of the Imperial Mosques
which I visited.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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