Molla Arap Mosque
Molla Arap Mosque
This mosque was built in the first quarter of the 16th century by Mevlana Mehmed, son of Omer, son of Hamza, called “Molla Arap”. Being also known as “Mehmed Molla”, his real name was Muhyiddin Mehmed. Hamza, his grandfather, was member of a Turkish family from Horasan. Molla Arap who participated in the Hungarian campaign during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566) returned to Bursa after this campaign where he lived until this death in 1531. His body was buried in this mosque’s graveyard. The tomb situated opposite to this mosque surrounded with an iron fence is attributed to Molla Arap.
“Molla Arap” Mosque is one of Bursa’s rare multi-domed mosques. Its main prayer hall is built with a square plan. It is covered with nine domes with hexagonal tambours.
The part of this two-domed mosque, which remained after sustaining damage in the 1855 earthquake, was renovated by Ahmet Vefik Pasha, the then Bursa governor. In 1997, it was restored by Yıldırım Municipality.
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