Mahmut Pasa Külliyesi

Mahmut was the son of a Greek father and a Serbian mother who had been a child of
devsirme. The Mahmut Pasha complex was large and included a mosque, a hamam, a
medrese, his türbe, a makheme or law court, a han, an imaret (soup kitchen for students, the
poor….) and a sibyan mekteb(Koran school for small boys). The courtroom, imaret and
mekteb disappeared at different periods, only the dershane remains.

Mahmut Pasa camii

The mosque was completed in 1464, and belongs to the Bursa type. It was repaired in 1755
and again in 1828 and 1936. The 6 original columns (2 central columns of porphyry, 2 of
verd-antique+2 of white marble) of the portico were encased with monstrous stone piers.
One enters a vestibule under a square stalactite vault with 2 domed areas right and left. The
central bay opens to the prayer hall through a tall arch. Its neighbouring bays have umbrella
vaults composed of 24 ribs. Beyond them on the northwest and the northeast are rooms
which were probably only eyvans. The room on the northwest corner gives access to the
minaret by an exposed flight of stairs. 3 steps lead up from the vestibule to the twin domed
main prayer hall. The dome is sealed and has no lantern. The domes are 12,5m in diameter
and are divided from each other by a broad arch. Its interior of the prayer hall, including the
mihrab and minbar, was renovated in the 19th century.

Türbe
Mahmut Pasa and his son are buried here. Built in 1473, a year prior to the execution of
Mahmut Pasa by Mehmet II, the tomb was restored in 1946.
The türbe is octagonal and has windows on 7 sides and a door without porch on the eighth.
The domed interior is entered through a double arched door to the northeast.
The türbe is remarkable for the indigo, blue and green glazed bricks which decorate its
exterior walls forming interlocking wheels and star patterns.

Mahmut Pasa Hamami

This hamam was also built by grand vezir Mahmut Pasa in 1476 as a double bath with the
one in the south for women, but today only the one for man is standing.
It has a symmetrical plan on a line between east and west. The entrance is on the eastern
façade from the main gate, which is situated in a niche and has stalactite half-domes.
The first section after entrance is the soyunmalik (a section where people undress and get
ready for bath) or Camekan. Against the walls of this section are “sedirs” (a kind of furniture,
long, used for sitting on). It is the only section in hamam which opens to outside with 3 rows
of windows on the durms and carrying walls. The roof with single dome (17m in diameter),
having an “Aydinlik Feneri” in the middle, is resting on a square plan with 8 big arches and
squinches. Generally this section of hamam is not heated. On the left side there are rooms to
dry the pestemals, on the right side there are the toilets. From the door on the middle
symmetrical axis, one can enter into iliklik (section which is not hot and not cold either). It is
used for ritual washing by the ones who cannot bear too hot.There is a multi-ribbed half-
dome in entrance, vaulted with a whorl of ribbed plaster. The 2 eyvans and 2 private rooms
for personal ablutions are all richly vaulted. In the centre a narrow door admits to the hot
room sicaklik which has an octagonal marbel “göbektas”, or navel stone (about 40cm high
from the floor) for resting, sweating and massage. Above is a ribbed dome, set with bottle
glass lights. Just behind the sicaklik section are the water tank, which opens to it with one
steam window, and the “külhan”. Külhan (a place for heating the hamam), and water tank is
the centre of the water distribution. Inner section of the hamam is heated by smoke with
pipes distributed from külhan.

Kürkcü Hani
The han, called the Kürkçü or Furriers' Han, is located down the Mahmud Pasa Highway fro
m the hamam. It was completed in 1476 (871 A.H.) It had 167 rooms on two stories organize
d around two open courtyards and a basement for storage. The first courtyard is a replica of
Fidan Han in the market neighborhood of Bursa, built also by Mahmud Pasa. It has remained
intact save its portico, which was enclosed for additional space. The second courtyard, irregu
lar in plan with five unequal sides, was probably used for stables and storage. It is now largel
y replaced with modern shops and buildings. A freestanding assembly of shops, placed diago
nally inside the first courtyard, used to have a mescid on its second floor. It is the only han th
at has come to our day from the Mehmed I era.