The cascading domes and four slender minarets of Suleymaniye Mosque dominate the skyline on the Golden Horn's west bank. Considered the most beautiful of all imperial mosques in Istanbul, it was built between 1550 and 1557 by Sinan, the renowned architect of the Ottoman golden age. On the crest of a hill, the building is conspicuous for its great size, which the four minarets that rise from each corner of the courtyard emphasize.


Inside, the mihrab (prayer niche) and the mimber (pulpit) are of finely carved white marble; fine stained glass windows color the incoming streams of light. It was in the gardens of this complex that Suleyman and his wife Hurrem Sultan had their mausoleum built and near here also that Sinan built his own tomb. The mosque complex also includes four medrese, or theological schools, a school of medicine, a caravanserai, a Turkish bath, and a kitchen and hospice for the poor.


The Suleymaniye Mosque is the largest mosque in Istanbul and was built between 1550-1557 AD by Sultan Suleyman I - "Suleyman the Magnificent". Suleyman was the richest and most powerful Sultan of the Ottoman empire. This Sultan is remembered by the Turks as the one who introduced laws and not by his magnificent title. He undertook much construction, rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem (which was part of the Ottoman Empire 1516), and a lot of monuments throughout his empire.


Inside the mosque you will be impressed by its size and also simplicity: tiles from Iznik and colored glass-work brings harmony to a place of prayer and silence. Four massive solid columns support the mosque: one from Baalbek, another from Alexandria and two from old Byzantine Palaces.

The paintings inside the mosque are dated from the 19th century and were recently renovated.