The cascading domes and
four slender minarets of the Imperial 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 Empire's golden age.
Erected on the crest of a hill, the building is
conspicuous for its great size, emphasized by the four
minarets that rise from each comer of the courtyard.
Inside are the mihrab (prayer niche showing the direction
to Mecca) and the mimber (pulpit) made of finely carved
white marble and exquisite stained-glass windows coloring
the incoming streams of light. It was in the gardens of
this complex that Suleyman and his wife, Hurrem Sultan (Roxelane),
had their mausolea built, and near here also Sinan built
his own tomb. The mosque complex also includes four
medreses, or theological schools, a school of medicine, a
caravanserai, a Turkish bath, and a kitchen and hospice
for the poor.
