Mausoleum of Yıldırım Bayezid
Mausoleum of Yıldırım Bayezid
The epitaph board over its door reveals that this mausoleum was ordered in 1406 by Shehzade Suleiman, son of Yıldırım Bayezid, to be built by architect Ali, the son of Huseyin. The body of Yıldırım Bayezid who died only a short while after the defeat in 1402 against the Mogul Emperor Timur in the Ankara War first was buried in Akşehir, and then brought to Bursa, where he was buried in this mausoleum situated within his own kulliye complex.
This mausoleum is built with a square plan; With its three-segment riwaq, this domed mausoleum is the first riwaqed mausoleum of Ottoman architecture. Inside this mausoleum, there are hand-drawn ornaments made in the 19th century, at the mihrab, the window pediments, the dome, the dome’s tambour, and at its skirt. Having sustained damage in the 1855 earthquake, this mausoleum was renovated once more.
There are five sarcophagi situated inside this mausoleum. The sarcophagi at its centre are known to be the ones of Yıldırım Bayezid, of his wife, and of his son, Isa Celebi. There are two more unknown sarcophagi.
