Manisa Muradiye Camii

The Manisa Muradiye Camii in Manisa, Turkey on the Aegean coast, completed in 1596.

While the site is not built to the monumental scale of Sinan’s other mosques, it features a  richly decorated interior. The interior of the mosque is a large open space based on the central plan displaying the dome. The qibla wall, located opposite to the entrance has a mihrab featuring muqarnas vaulting–also known as ‘honeycomb’ vaults. Windows pierce the walls and drum of the central dome, relieving some of the weight of the upper story, and providing natural lights.  The court painter Ustad Mehmed Halife worked on the non-architectural design elements such as the decorative tiles and the use of Kufic script.

By Karis De Gannes, Gelsey Haigler, and Kendal McDowell 

INTERIOR INSCRIPTION

The Possessor of the abundance of the sea of munificence,

The Shah of the dominions of the Hijaz and Rum and Iraq,

Who is the embodiment of all perfection,

Built a mosque lofty as the horizons.

A man of perception came for its visit,

And recited its chronogram; ‘The Ka’ba of Lovers’