Suleymaniye



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, wh1ch 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 Surtan had their mausolea built. and near here also that Sinan built his own tomb.the mosque complex also includes four medrese, or theoiogical schools, a school of medicine, a caravanserai, a Turkish bath, and a kitchen and hospice for the poor.

04.05.2008