A notice on site indicates the mausoleum (across the road from the mosque) more or less follows the original plan. It contains the body of Murat I, the sultan who was killed after winning the battle in Serbia at Kosovo. An inscription above the entrance records a restoration in 1741 and another following the earthquake in 1855. It also mentions some metalwork and a kuran sent by Sultan Berkuk are now in the Türk ve Islam Eserleri Müzesi of Bursa.

On the picture: The cenotaph sarcophagus of Murat I, surrounded by a brass grid and covered with velvet, which is adorned with gold thread embroidery. It stands in the very center of the mausoleum, under a small dome that is supported by eight pillars. The murals and the capitals of the pillars (decorated with leaves of the plumeless thistle) date from the early-19th century restoration; they are examples of the 19th century late-Ottoman ‘Turkish Baroque’, which was influenced by European Neo-Classicism (and more specifically here by the French ‘Nouvel Empire’ style).

Note: The term ‘Turkish Baroque’ is a general one; if necessary, more specific terms are used: ‘Barok’ (= Neo-Baroque), ‘Rokoko’ (= Neo-Rococo) or ‘Ampir’ (= ‘Nouvel Empire’).

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Source: ‘Vakıf Abideler ve eski Eserler (volume III)’ - Vakıflar Genel Müdürlüğü, Ankara 1983 .