Süleymaniye Mosque, Fatih District / Istanbul, EU / Built: 1557 / Architect: Mimar Sinan / Mosque Height: 174 ft / Minarets: 4 / Minaret Height: 249 ft / Commissioned by: Suleiman the Magnificent / Architectural Style: Ottoman

The Süleymaniye Mosque is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An inscription specifies the foundation date as 1550 and the inauguration date as 1557.

Behind the qibla wall of the mosque is an enclosure containing the separate octagonal mausoleums of Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Hurrem Sultan (Roxelana). For 462 years, the Süleymaniye Mosque was the largest mosque in the city, until it was surpassed by the Çamlıca Mosque in 2019. The Süleymaniye Mosque is one of the best-known sights of Istanbul, and from its location on the Third Hill, it commands an extensive view of the city around the Golden Horn.

Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent chose the architect Mimar Sinan to create a mosque in memory of his son Şehzade (Crown Prince) Mehmed. Suleyman was so impressed with the ensuing Şehzade Mosque (Şehzade Cami) that he asked Sinan to design a mosque for himself too. This mosque would represent the pre-eminence of the Ottoman Empire. In designing the Süleymaniye Mosque, Sinan took inspiration from the Hagia Sophia and the Bayezid II Mosque. The mosque was built on the site of the old palace (Eski Saray) of Topkapi which was still in use at the time and had to be demolished.

The design of the Süleymaniye played on Süleyman's self-conscious representation of himself as a 'second Solomon.' It referenced the Dome of the Rock, which was built on the site of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, as well as Justinian's boast upon the completion of the Hagia Sophia: "Solomon, I have surpassed thee!" The Süleymaniye asserted Süleyman's historical importance although it was smaller in size than Hagia Sophia.

Like the other imperial mosques in Istanbul, the entrance to the mosque is preceded by a forecourt with a central fountain. The courtyard is of exceptional grandeur with a colonnaded peristyle with columns of marble, granite and porphyry. The northwest facade of the mosque is decorated with rectangular Iznik tile window lunettes. It was the first building in which the Iznik tiles included the brightly coloured tomato red clay under the glaze.

Four minarets occupy the four corners of the courtyard. The two taller ones have three galleries (serifes) and rise to a high of 63.8 m (209 ft) without their lead caps and 76 m (249 ft) including the caps. Four minarets were added to mosques endowed by a sultan (princes and princesses could construct two minarets; others only one). The minarets have a total of 10 galleries, which is said to reflect the fact that Suleiman I was the 10th Ottoman sultan.

The main dome is 53 metres (174 feet) high and has a diameter of 26.5 metres (86.9 feet) which is exactly half the height. When it was built, it was the highest dome in the Ottoman Empire, when measured from sea level, although it was still lower from its base and smaller in diameter than that of Hagia Sophia.

Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%BCleymaniye_Mosque
www.suleymaniyecamii.org/

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Taken in: Turkey / Istanbul / Süleymaniye (show map)

Taken on: July 10, 2023

Tags:

Süleymaniye Mosque

Fatih District

Built: 1557

Architect: Mimar Sinan

Mosque Height: 174 ft

Minarets: 4

Minaret Height: 249 ft

Commissioned by: Suleiman the Magnificent

Architectural Style: Ottoman

dome

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street photography

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holy place

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Third Hill of Istanbul

Hurrem Sultan

Roxelana

one of the best-known sights of Istanbul

Crown Prince

Şehzade Mehmed

Eski Saray

forecourt with a central fountain

courtyard

columns of marble granite and porphyry

rectangular Iznik tile window lunettes

minarets have a total of 10 galleries

Muslim. UNESCO World Heritage Site

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