Undoubtedly, the most well-known structure of the Green Complex is the Green Tomb, which was built for Çelebi Mehmed and is known for the color of the green and turquoise relief tiles that adorn its facades. It was built in 1421 by Çelebi Mehmed, the son of Yıldırım Beyazid and the fifth of the Ottoman sultans.
Who Lies in the Green Tomb?
Çelebi Mehmed is considered the second founder of the Ottoman Empire. In his 34 years of struggle, he participated in the war 24 times and was injured in 40 different places. The construction of the Green Tomb was completed 40 days before his death, and his death was hidden from the public for 40 days, and he was buried in the Green Tomb 80 days after its construction. In the verses of Suat Asral, Çelebi Mehmed’s tomb in the Yeşil Türbe; It is expressed as “The sun rises and the sun sets on the golden domes of Bursa… Çelebi Mehmed lies on a hill in Yeşil…”. In the tomb, there are also Selçuk Hatun, Hafsa, Ayşe, Sitti Hatun, daughters of Çelebi Mehmed; His sons Mahmud and Yusuf Bey and their nannies are also buried.
Green Tomb – Bursa
For what purpose was the Green Tomb Built?
The Green Tomb is higher than the Green Mosque in the Green Complex. This is not the usual situation. The reason why the Green Tomb is higher than the Green Mosque is to give the message “We are standing” against the enemy in the difficult period of the Ottoman Empire. After the defeat of Timur and the power struggle between the brothers, the Green Tomb was made to show that Çelebi Mehmed did not destroy the Ottoman Empire and could produce more brilliant works than before. Its architect is Hacı İvaz Pasha. His muralists are Ali bin İlyas Ali, Mahmud el Mecnun and Ali bin Hacı Ahmed Tabrizi.
Green Tomb Plan
It has an octagonal prism body with the narrowest face of 8.45 meters and the widest face of 8.87 meters. The body faces are made of white marble, the frames and the legs are carried by pointed arches with a 3.5 meter span and the stirrups standing idle. Except for the south and north facades, there are large rectangular windows and plaster windows with pointed arches. The façade, which has survived to our time with little change, is the first face to the east of the entrance. Marble frames, blind arches and windows are surrounded by a border with a rumi motif. Other parts are covered with turquoise colored tiles. The verses and hadiths are written on the window pediments on a dark blue background, in the fields divided into three horizontal sections with thin lines.
Green Tomb – Bursa
The name Green Tomb was given to the tomb by the people because it is covered with green and turquoise colored tiles. The entrance door of the tomb was badly damaged in the earthquake of 1855, and after the repair in 1864, it was plastered with khorasan and brought into its present appearance. Right and left altarpieces, shoe cabinets, the inscription of the tomb, the 13-slice half-dome are embroidered in the embossed glaze technique with various colors and motifs. Rumi, palmettes, rosette motifs and door wings embroidered like lace are also evident in our time. The door, which is a masterpiece of art, was made by Ali, the son of Ahmed, from Tabriz. Its octagonal body is covered by a large leaded dome resting on a plastered high drum. The walls are covered with hexagonal turquoise tiles, surrounded by two borders up to 2.94 meters high. Among them are large medallions. The tomb has the most magnificent tiled altar that has reached our time. It is a masterpiece of colorful ornament art. Givli ornamental columns resemble the altar of the Green Mosque with three rows of muqarnas, rumi, palmette, curved branch motifs, thick inscriptions and a crest.
A major restoration was carried out in the Green Tomb by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Bursa Governorship in 2007-2009 with the financial support of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB). Another feature of the Green Tomb is that death turns into a sea of love among green and cool tiles. The color of the Green Tomb, which fascinates people with the effect of the dome and tiles that gather the holy lights on the horizons of Bursa, is like a sap filtered from the old Bursa springs. Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar expressed his feelings with these series in his poem “Time in Bursa”: “We visited the Green Tomb last night, we heard the voice of the Qur’an, which permeates the tiles from time, like music…”
Source: Bursa Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism