[MIDDLE EAST / ADRIANOPLE / ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE] Early four photographs taken in the Republican period of decorative elements of the mosques in Edirne (Adrianople) city

MUHITTIN (Bursa Elektrik Sirketi Fen Heyeti Reisi), Bursa, [ca. 1930].

Original four huge gelatin silver prints mounted on signed cardboards by Muhittin, who was the chief of the Electric Company Committee in Bursa. Cardboard size: 34x30 cm; photograph size: 23,5x17,5 cm.

Fine silver prints of the decorative elements of Selimiye Mosque (two photos), Üç Serefeli Mosque, and Bayezid II Mosque. The photos of Selimiye Mosque show interior decorations in the building, the door of Üç Serefeli Mosque, and a window sash of Bayezid II Mosque. 

Üç Serefeli Mosque is a 15th-century Ottoman mosque, that was commissioned by Ottoman sultan Murad II and built between 1438-1447. It is located in the historical center of the city, close to the Selimiye Mosque and Old Mosque. The name refers to an unusual minaret with three balconies. The architect of the mosque is not known. The two blue and turquoise underglaze-painted tile panels in the tympana of the windows were probably produced by the same group of tilemakers who had decorated the Yesil Mosque (1419-21) in Bursa where the tiles are signed as "the work of the masters of Tabriz" ('amal-i ustadan-i Tabriz). 

The Complex of Sultan Bayezid II is a külliye located in Edirne, built-in 1488 by the Ottoman architect Mimar Hayruddin for Sultan Bayezid II (reigned 1481-1512). And Selimiye Mosque is an Ottoman imperial mosque, The mosque was commissioned by Sultan Selim II, and was built by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan between 1568 and 1575. The mosque's courtyard forms a dramatic approach that helps to frame the view of the main dome from outside. The central outer gate on the northwest side of the courtyard is unusually simple, as the customary muqarnas canopy is replaced by a simple round arch. Inside, the courtyard is surrounded by four porticos of arches and domes. The southeastern portico, immediately preceding the entrance to the prayer hall, is significantly taller than the other three porticos in order to match the great height of the mosque itself. This portico is composed of three wide arches with two very small arches between them, a configuration vaguely resembling a triumphal arch and very different from the earlier monumental portico designed by Sinan for the Süleymaniye Mosque. The façades above these arches are decorated with two marble circles inscribed with quotes from the Qur'an. The large lower windows around the courtyard are surmounted by decorative lunettes, except for the two windows on either side of the entrance portal, which are set below muqarnas niches instead. The lunettes of the windows on the prayer hall side are filled with Iznik tiles painted with calligraphy.

The photographs in this small collection were taken by the chief of the Electric Company Committee in Bursa city, probably for an architectural project.