A marble ‘çeşme’ (fountain), near the west entrance to the complex and next to the small graveyard that lies west of it. It is called ‘Emirsultan Çeşmesi’ or also ‘Fatma Hanım Çeşmesi’ (= Fountain of Lady Fatma, the wife of Emir Sultan), although it is a 19th century late-Ottoman replacement.
The original mosque of Emir Sultan was ordered (in the late 14th century) by his wife Lady Fatma (Hundi Fatma Hatun). She was a daughter of sultan Yıldırım Beyazıt and therefore had the means to do so. In 1426 she added a hamam (bathhouse) to the mosque and mausoleum, turning the complex into a real ‘külliye’.
Külliye, deriving from the Arabic word "kull" (meaning the whole, all) is a term which designates a complex of buildings, centered around a mosque and managed within a single institution, often based on a vakıf (foundation). Additional to the mosque, it can be composed of a medrese (school), a darüşşifa (hospital), kitchens for the poor, bakery, hamam, library, arasta (shops), caravanserai and other buildings for various benevolent services for the community. Often the türbe of the initiator will be present too.
The tradition of külliye is particularly marked in Turkish architecture, particularly Ottoman Empire.
Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Sources: ‘Vakıf Abideler ve eski Eserler’ - Vakıflar Genel Müdürlüğü III, Ankara 1983 ; Wikipedia
Website of ‘lifeinbursa.com’ & ‘Bursa - Turquie’ – booklet of the Bursa Müzeleri, 1980.