Bursa Grand Mosque

Ulu Cami was finished in 1399 and it belongs to an earlier Ottoman world than the Istanbul mosques - before the single great dome became the model, when the multi-domed hall was still the form. Twenty domes sit on twelve massive piers in a grid, and the effect inside is of a forest of supports rather than one soaring space, dim and horizontal and quite unlike Süleymaniye. In the centre, under a dome left open to the sky in the original design and now glazed, is a şadırvan, an ablution fountain, indoors - an unusual arrangement that gives the interior the constant sound of running water. The walls and piers carry around a hundred and ninety calligraphic panels painted directly onto the plaster by masters of successive centuries, which is the mosque's real distinction and the reason calligraphers still come. The covered bazaar and Koza Han are immediately outside.

What you actually see

• The twenty domes - the grid roof on twelve piers.
• The indoor fountain - the şadırvan under the central dome.
• The calligraphy panels - some 190 painted across walls and piers.
• The bazaar outside - the covered market at the door.

When to go

April to June and September to October. Mid-morning between prayers; Friday midday is closed to visitors.

Honest expectations

It is a working mosque - shoes off, modest dress, headscarf for women. The interior is deliberately dim, which surprises visitors expecting Istanbul's light-filled halls. Restoration work appears periodically.

Nearby

Koza Han and the covered bazaar adjoin it; the Muradiye complex and Bursa's tombs are a short ride west.