At the Bayezit I (or Beyazit, I don't know what spelling is best) mosque, also known as Yildirim Mosque (Thunderbolt, the sultan's nickname), this is the sultan's tomb. The complex dates from 1391 and contains a medrese - now a public health centre, recognizable in its architecture, but no good for pictures - and a türbe tomb). His son Isa is buried here too. The sultan was beaten in a battle by Timurlane or Tamerlane (Timur the Lame) in 1402, and died a prisoner.

Here Murat IV (1612-1640) came in solemn procession to insult his unlucky ancestor, who after a life of victories depending on the mobility of his forces (which granted him his nickname) suffered a disastrous defeat against Timurlenk, and died of chagrin in captivity.

The Türbe was restored several times, last in 1878. While the general architecture and the exterior have the right 15th-16th century Ottoman looks, the interior is fully late-Ottoman, with European Neo-Classical accents.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Sources: ‘Vakıf Abideler ve eski Eserler III’ - Vakıflar Genel Müdürlüğü, Ankara 1983
& ‘Islamic Architecture: Ottoman Turkey’ (Godfrey Goodwin) – London 1977