157. Brousse. Yéchil Djâmi. Porte

This is the main entrance to the Tomb of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet I, known as the Green Tomb (Yesil Turbe) at Bursa, the first capital of Turkey. The tomb and its neighbouring mosque were constructed in the early 15th century and decorated on the exterior with hexagonal green ceramic tiles, hence their titles. An earthquake caused extensive damage in 1855, but both buildings have since been restored. A photograph by Sébah & Joaillier of the same subject in the 1890s shows that the door looked substantially the same then as in this image of fifty years earlier. The wooden door is of carved walnut and the quality of workmanship throughout is considered exceptional.

In this image the photographer struggles to contain the height of the doorway seen in close-up within his sixth-plate format. He succeeds in giving an impression of the grand scale of the imposing entrance, while also showing some of the varied use of pattern in the door and the vault above.

The archive includes another photograph in the same format of a detail of the decoration above the door.