Mullah Arab Mosque

Since Bursa city has been the capital of the Ottoman Empire for many years, it is possible to find many historical and cultural places in the city. It is necessary to open a special paragraph between these places especially to places of worship. Some of the mosques in the town are converted directly from the church. The Mullah Arap Mosque, one of the most important mosques in Bursa, has a rectangular plan. The mosque was built at the beginning of the 6th century by Mevlana Mehmet Hamza, known by his nickname Mullah Arab at the time. Two domes are located above the normal worship section.

According to the information provided, the Mullah Arab Mosque had nine domes in the first period when it was built. In this respect, it is often compared to the Grand Mosque. On the walls of the historic mosque, which is based on four elephant feet, it is seen that rubble stones and three rows of bricks were used. As a result of a large earthquake that occurred in the city towards the end of the 1800s, the mosque was largely destroyed. Unfortunately only two domes and the feet carrying these domes manage to remain intact. In the repair work of that period, the empiric style is adopted. After repair, the upper section is again covered by nine domes.

The minaret of the mosque is on the northwest side. The cone part of the minaret has a pointed and suffocating feature. This situation is not seen in other historical mosques in Bursa city. In the front section of the Mullah Arab Mosque, a rather large courtyard meets you.

Mullah Arab, who gave the mosque its name, is often confused with Alaeddin Arabi Effendi because he is also nicknamed as Mullah Arab. The local people begin to call Alaeddin Arabi Effendi an Arab preacher in order to distinguish these two important names from each other. II. Bayezid is known to have frequently participated in sermons given by Mullah Arab. It is even mentioned that he took Mullah Arab with him when he went to certain expeditions. In this sense, the information that one of the first people to step into the castle during the conquest of Modon Castle was a Mullah Arab is available in written sources.