Green mosque (yesil camii) in Bursa, Turkey.

© SKahraman/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Yeşil Cami

Top choice in Bursa


Built for Mehmet I, the Yeşil (Green) Cami was completed in 1422 and represents a departure from the previous, Persian-influenced Seljuk architecture that dominated Bursa. Exemplifying Ottoman styling, it contains a harmonious facade and beautiful carved marble work around the central doorway. The mosque was named for the interior walls' greenish-blue tiles.

Diverse calligraphy exists on the niches of the main door to the mosque. Entering its ornate interior, you'll enter a domed central hall with a 15m-high mihrab (niche indicating the direction of Mecca). A narrow staircase leads to the sumptuously tiled hünkar mahfili (sultan's private box) where the great man stayed when in town; the harem and household staff enjoyed less plush digs on either side.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Bursa attractions

1. Yeşil Türbe

0.03 MILES

The mausoleum of 5th Ottoman sultan Mehmed I Çelebi (and several of his children) stands in a cypress-trimmed park opposite the Yeşil Cami. During his…

2. Turkish & Islamic Arts Museum

0.07 MILES

Housed in the former medrese (seminary) of the Yeşil Cami, this museum contains 14th- to 16th-century İznik ceramics, jewellery, embroidery, calligraphy,…

3. Irgandı Köprüsü

0.18 MILES

Spanning the gorge, north of the Setbaşı road bridge, this restored Ottoman bridge houses shops, cafes and touristy artisan workshops.

4. Emir Sultan Cami

0.36 MILES

An early Ottoman mosque, the 14th-century Emir Sultan Cami was named for Sultan Beyazıt I's son-in-law and adviser, a Persian scholar-dervish. Today's…

5. Atatürk Statue

0.4 MILES

Central Cumhuriyet Alanı (Republic Sq) is also called Heykel (statue) after this large Atatürk monument.

6. Bursa City Museum

0.41 MILES

This lively museum, very popular with local families, chronicles Bursa's history from the earliest sultans, their military campaigns and their ornate…

7. AVP Theatre

0.41 MILES

Stately theatre named after Ahmet Vefik Pasa (1823–1891), a Greek-Ottoman statesman who was briefly (for four months in 1878) the Grand Vizier of the…

8. Bursa Valılıǧı

0.43 MILES

The Bursa Valılıǧı is a convenient landmark on Cumhuriyet Alanı (Republic Sq).