Alaeddin Pasha Mosque

Alaeddin Pasha Mosque, also known as Alaeddin Bey Mosque, is considered the oldest surviving mosque in Bursa. It was commissioned by Alaeddin Bey, brother of Orhan Gazi, in the years immediately following Orhan's conquest of the city in 1326, making it one of the earliest Ottoman religious monuments. A surviving waqf (endowment) record from 1332-33 lists villages donated for its upkeep, corroborating its early foundation date. Architecturally it is a classic example of the early Ottoman single-domed mosque type: a cubic domed prayer hall preceded by a triple-arched, three-bay portico. A hamam built alongside the mosque at the same time has since vanished, though its foundations and a fountain survive west of the mosque's courtyard. The building was badly damaged in the 1855 earthquake that struck Bursa, and repairs carried out in 1861-62 rebuilt the portico and completed the minaret; it was repaired again in 1890, yet its original early Ottoman form remains largely intact today.