Green Mosque (Yesil Camii), Bursa

Green Mosque (Yesil Camii), Bursa tickets and tours: which one to book

No ticket for the Green Mosque is sold online, and none is needed. Entry to the mosque is free, and so is the Green Tomb on the opposite side of the small square; there are no timed slots, and scarves are usually available at the door for women. The only paid site in the complex is the museum of Turkish and Islamic arts in the old madrasa, which charges a modest fee at its own ticket desk. Most visitors either come independently or as part of a day trip from Istanbul. The full-day excursions cross the Sea of Marmara by ferry and then visit the main early Ottoman monuments of Bursa, nearly always including this mosque, the Grand Mosque and the silk market, and often adding the village of Cumalikizik or the cable car up Uludag.

They usually include transport, a guide and lunch, with the cable car extra, and make a long day with limited time at each stop. Staying overnight in Bursa allows a slower visit in the quiet hours. Within the city, the Green Mosque lies in the Yesil district on a slope east of the centre, about 1.5 km from the Grand Mosque; you can walk across the river valley in twenty minutes or take a short taxi or bus ride. A guide is helpful for the symbolism of the tilework and the history of the first Ottoman sultans. The page lists any GetYourGuide tours whose route passes the mosque.

Visiting Green Mosque (Yesil Camii), Bursa: what to see and how to behave

The Green Mosque was built for Sultan Mehmed I, who reunited the Ottoman state after a long civil war among the sons of Bayezid I. Work began in 1412 under the vizier Haci Ivaz Pasha, and the building was finished around 1420, with the interior decoration completed in 1424. It is often regarded as the high point of early Ottoman architecture, and with the neighbouring tomb it forms part of the group of monuments in Bursa listed by UNESCO as the birthplace of the Ottoman Empire. Damage in the earthquake of 1855 led to a long restoration in the 1860s. The mosque follows the early Bursa plan, with a domed entrance hall leading to a raised prayer space under a second dome, flanked by side rooms once used by travelling dervishes.

The outer facade is of fine marble with a deeply carved portal; notice that the porch in front was never built. Inside, the walls are clad in green and blue tiles, which give the mosque its name, and the mihrab is a tall tiled niche signed by craftsmen from Tabriz, a reminder of the Persian influence on early Ottoman art. Above the entrance, the sultan's private loge is decorated with some of the finest tilework in the building. Across the square, the octagonal Green Tomb, faced outside in turquoise tiles, holds the sarcophagus of Mehmed I, covered in its own glazed tiles. Remove your shoes, keep to the back during prayers and avoid flash photography. From the terrace by the tomb there is a fine view over the city.

Green Mosque (Yesil Camii), Bursa: opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

The mosque is open daily from early morning until the evening prayer, but tourists should avoid the five prayer times and the Friday midday prayer, when the hall is full. The Green Tomb keeps daytime hours and the madrasa museum is closed on some weekdays; check locally before you go. Morning is best, when soft light falls through the windows onto the tiles and the day-trip groups from Istanbul have not yet arrived; they tend to reach the Yesil district around the middle of the day.

Late afternoon is also quiet, and the view from the tomb terrace is good towards sunset. Spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons for walking between the monuments; summers are hot, and winter brings snow to Uludag above the city. During Ramadan and the Eid holidays the mosque and tomb are busy with local visitors. Allow 45 minutes to an hour for the mosque, the tomb and the view. Combine it with the Emir Sultan Mosque a short walk away, then cross back to the Grand Mosque and the covered bazaar.