The central space of the congregation hall of the mosque, with a marble fountain in its center; we are looking towards the entrance at its north side. On both sides of the corridor, and above it, the lavishly tiled rooms form the ‘Hünkâr mahfili’ (= lodge of the lord), a space reserved for the sultan or his representative. The two rooms below were also used as ‘platform’ for the singers; the more secluded part of the lodge is situated on the first floor, and has a balcony overlooking the prayer hall.
The large dome above is 13 m wide and culminates at a height of 25 m.
On the left side of the picture: the west iwan (aisle) of the prayer hall.

An iwan (Persian & Turkish: ‘eyvān’) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. This architectural form can be used for entrances, but also (as it is the case here) to create half open rooms looking out at a central yard. The iwan as used in Anatolian Seljuk ‘medrese’ and later in early-Ottoman ‘Bursa-type’ mosques was imported from Islamic Persia, but was invented much earlier and fully developed in Mesopotamia.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Sources: ‘Vakıf Abideler ve eski Eserler (volume III)’ - Vakıflar Genel Müdürlüğü, Ankara 1983