Shortly after the construction of this mosque he suffered one of the empire's worse defeats at the hands of Timur (Tamerlane) at the Battle of Ankara in 1402.

[5] Tradition holds that Timur went on to burn the mosque that same year and that the Qaramanid ruler Mehmed Bey did so again during a siege of the city in 1412.

[8] At the mosque's center is a unique fountain (şadırvan) over a water basin with eighteen corners, which in its current form dates from the 19th century.

The dome over the şadırvan is open to the sky (though covered by glass today), creating a skylight which helps to illuminate the mosque's dark interior.

[6] The wooden minbar, next to the mihrab, is made in the traditional Anatolian Seljuk style using the kundekari technique (using interlocking pieces of wood held together without nails or glue).

“Earthquakes are considerable threats to historically and culturally significant buildings in Turkey, with its active tectonics and seismicity”.

[9][page needed] The mosque was seriously damaged by earthquake at least once in 1855, which required its closure for many years and major repairs and reconstruction.