The city of Iznik, reknown for its beautiful Ottoman tiles now adds another badge of honour to its name with the discovery of the first Ottoman mosque that was built by Orhan Gazi. Excavations have unearthed the mosque which also had a separate accomodation area for visitors. The mosque is known to have some of the oldest Iznik tiles ever discovered.

The excavations are conducted in conjunction with the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality and are lead by the Iznik Museum Directorate with Karabuk University lecturer Dr. Bulent Nuri heading the investigations which are currently taking place in an olive farm a the Kyrgyz Tomb.

Experts have said that that the location of a chamber has been uncovered. Measuring five meters wide and twenty five metres long it is built on baked red brick tiles measuring 28x28 meters.

Built during the Ottoman siege of 1325 by Orhan Gazi the mosque has two separate visitors rooms on opposite sides traditionally called either a "tabhane" or a "zawiyali". The most striking feature of the mosque are the tiles, which are known to be the earliest such tiles that are two metres in height built into a hexagonal structure. In addition, many smaller pieces of tiles have also been unearthed during the excavation.

Source:

http://www.worldbulletin.net/haber/175611/the-first-ottoman-mosque-has-been-found

http://300035.dotdothktrade.tech/en/artical/27592/first-ottoman-mosque-found