SULEYMANIYE
MOSQUE
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, is the largest
in Istanbul, was built between 1550 and 1557 by Sinan, the renowned architect of the Ottoman golden age.
The mosque was built by the order of Sultan Suleyman I - "Suleyman the
Magnificent", the richest and most powerful Sultan of the Ottoman empire.
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. The mosque complex also includes four theological schools, a school of medicine, a caravanserai, a Turkish bath,
a kitchen and hospice for the poor. 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. |
