Abstract:

Bursa, one of the cities that earned the title of Payitaht, was surrounded by the first examples of Ottoman architecture. The Ottomans, who gave the first architectural works in the castle, soon started building activities outside the castle. Orhan Gazi who conquered Bursa has become a constructer of multiple buildings in Iznik and Bursa. The Orhan Mosque, which is the first structure built outside the Bursa Castle, is also the first examples of constructions named as reverse T plan. However, the structure, which could not be maintained as it was originally built, has undergone many repairs. One of the large-scale repairs carried out on the building was after 1855. The repair of multiple buildings after the Bursa centered earthquake on this date was started in 1863 and repairs were carried out by French architect Leon Parvillée. There is a plan belonging to Bursa Orhan Mosque in the Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives. The Orhan Mosque plan which is registered with the same file number with the Yeşil Mosque drawing in Bursa, is archived with code PLK. 03443. There are no dates beside the plans. In these undated drawings, the explanation text next to the Yeşil Mosque plan shows that the plans were prepared after an earthquake and showed the current state of the structures. It has been found that the plan of the Ottoman Archives of the Prime Ministry which had not been subject to any work before, show differences from its current situation. In this study, the current archive plan and the current plan of the structure have been compared. As a result of the plan comparisons, the changes and repairs that the Bursa Orhan Mosque had undergone were evaluated and these evaluations were also supported by the repair records in the Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives. This text also discusses the century this undated plan belongs to and the date range that the changes in the structure may have taken place among other subjects.

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