Kurşunlu Mosque, Eskişehir

The Kursunlu Mosque is the central building of a large kulliye built in Eskisehir's Odunpazari district between 1517 and 1525 on the orders of the Ottoman vizier Coban Mustafa Pasha. Its architect, Acem Ali, also known as Alaeddin Ali Bey, is regarded as the first chief court architect of the classical Ottoman period, serving in the role before Mimar Sinan. The mosque itself is covered by a single square-based dome that was originally sheathed in lead, which gave the building its name, since kursun means lead in Turkish. Beyond the mosque, the complex originally included a fountain, a small dervish lodge, a drill hall, harem quarters, a public kitchen, a mausoleum for Mevlevi sheikhs, and two caravanserais. Several of these auxiliary buildings have since been converted to new uses, including glass-blowing workshops, an art gallery, a library, and what is described as the world's first museum devoted to meerschaum, the carved mineral for which the region is known.