The prayer hall of the Yıldırım Beyazıt mosque follows the ‘reverse T’ ground plan, with a central space (on the foreground of this picture), flanked by three iwan-rooms: the ‘mihrab’ area in the South (in the background, on the left) and two aisles: West (in the background, on the right) and East (not visible on this picture).
The small door in the wall between the mihrab area and the west iwan, leads to a room in the southwest corner of the building. This room was part of the ‘zaviye’ (dervish lodge), which was integrated in this so-called ‘multi-functional mosque’; the three other ‘zaviye’-rooms are situated in the three other corners of the building.

The T-form ground plan of the congregation hall of early-Ottoman mosques (the so-called ‘Bursa-type’ mosques) is derived from the late-Seljuk medrese-with-covered-courtyard, with three large iwans (half-open rooms) opening upon a central space. In the older Bursa mosques, these four spaces are still distinct from each other: their floors are not on the same level.
As the first Ottoman rulers (at least up to their conquest of Constantinople) had strong ties with various Sufi Orders, it is clear that the first Bursa-type mosques were designed as multi-functional buildings to meet the needs of these brotherhoods: a place to worship (the ‘mihrab’-room), but also to teach and debate (the ‘iwan’-rooms on the left and right) and even to stay overnight (in general two or four rooms, in the corners of the building). The central space of the prayer hall acts as a ‘public square’, connecting all areas with each other.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Sources: ‘Türkiye Tarihi Yerler Kılavuzu’ – M.Orhan Bayrak, Inkılâp Kitabevi, Istanbul, 1994.
‘Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire’ - Gábor Ágoston & ‎Bruce Alan Masters, 2009
& ‘Vakıf Abideler ve eski Eserler (volume III)’ - Vakıflar Genel Müdürlüğü, Ankara 1983 .