in a house near Selimiye Mosque, which he visited often until 1868. It was at Selimiye mosque where he was supposed to have had an open debate with Mírzá Yaḥyá Núrí (also known by the title of Ṣubḥ-i-Azal), an important event in the split of the Bábi Faith, which ultimately resulted in the formation of the Baha'i Faith guided by Baha'u'llah and the Azali Bábi Faith guided by Mírzá Yaḥyá. At the Bulgarian siege of Edirne in 1913, the dome of the mosque was hit by Bulgarian artillery. Owing to the dome's extremely sturdy construction, the mosque survived the assault with only minor damage. On Mustafa Kemal Pasha's order, it has not been restored since then, to serve as a warning for future generations. Some damage can be seen on the image of the dome above, at and near the dark red calligraphy to the immediate left of the central blue area. The mosque was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 10,000 lira banknotes of 1982-1995. Architecture The mosque The mosque is widely regarded as Sinan's crowning masterpiece, and Sinan himself regarded it as his best work. The main building consists of two equal parts: a rectangular courtyard and a rectangular prayer hall, each measuring about . Courtyard The mosque's courtyard forms a dramatic approach that helps to frame the view of the main dome from outside. The central outer gate on the northwest side of the courtyard is unusually simple, as the customary muqarnas canopy is replaced by a simple round arch. Inside, the courtyard is surrounded by four porticos of arches and domes. The southeastern portico, immediately preceding the entrance to the prayer hall, is significantly taller than the other three porticos in order to match the great height of the mosque itself. This portico is composed of three wide arches with two very small arches between them, a configuration vaguely resembling a triumphal arch and very different from the earlier monumental portico designed by Sinan for the Süleymaniye Mosque. The façades above these arches are decorated with two marble circles inscribed with quotes from the Qur'an. The large lower windows around the courtyard are surmounted by decorative lunettes, except for the two windows on either side of the entrance portal, which are set below muqarnas niches instead. The lunettes of the windows on the prayer hall side are filled with Iznik tiles painted with calligraphy. The