Süleymaniye Mosque

Rising above the Golden Horn on the city's third hill, the Süleymaniye Mosque is the grandest of Istanbul's imperial mosques and the masterpiece of the Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. Built for Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent at the height of Ottoman power, it is both a place of worship and a monument to an empire that stretched from Hungary to the Persian Gulf.

History

Construction began in 1550 and the mosque was completed in 1557. Sinan, then in his sixties, designed not just a mosque but a vast külliye, a charitable complex that included madrasas (theological schools), a school of medicine, a hospital, a public kitchen (imaret), a caravanserai, a hammam, a library and shops. The complex was planned around the mosque on terraces that step down towards the Golden Horn. The building survived fires and earthquakes over the centuries and was carefully restored in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, most recently in a major restoration completed in 2010.

What to See

The central dome rises 53 metres above the floor and measures about 26.5 metres across, supported by four great piers and two semi-domes, a plan inspired by Hagia Sophia but refined into a clear, harmonious space. Sinan placed more than 130 windows in the walls and dome so that the interior is filled with light. Decoration is restrained: fine stained glass, İznik tiles around the mihrab and inscriptions by the celebrated calligrapher Ahmed Karahisari and his pupil Hasan Çelebi.

• Four minarets with ten balconies – traditionally said to mark Suleiman as the tenth Ottoman sultan.
• The courtyard – an arcaded court of marble, granite and porphyry columns.
• Tomb of Suleiman the Magnificent – an octagonal türbe decorated with İznik tiles in the garden behind the mosque.
• Tomb of Hürrem Sultan – the resting place of Suleiman's influential wife, known in Europe as Roxelana.
• Tomb of Mimar Sinan – the modest türbe the architect designed for himself, just outside the complex.
• The terrace views – a panorama over the Golden Horn, Galata and the Bosphorus.

Visitor Tips

Entry is free and the mosque is usually much quieter than the Blue Mosque, making it ideal for appreciating Ottoman architecture in peace. It closes to visitors during the daily prayers, so plan around noon and afternoon prayer times. Modest dress is required; women should cover their hair. The streets around the complex are known for restaurants serving kuru fasulye, the traditional bean stew, and the historic imaret now houses a restaurant.

The Süleymaniye is a short walk uphill from the Spice Bazaar and the Grand Bazaar, and fits naturally into a full-day Istanbul old city tour. With an Inca Tour guide you will discover how Sinan's genius shaped the skyline of Istanbul and why this complex is part of the UNESCO-listed Historic Areas of Istanbul.