Suleymaniye Mosque
The Hagia Sophia served as a model to many Ottoman mosques in Istanbul. However, Sinan’s Suleymaniye is a more symmetrical, rationalized and light-filled interpretation of earlier Ottoman precedents, as well as the Hagia Sophia.
The mosque an inner and an outer courtyard surrounding the mosque from four side. The inner courtyard is a monumental colonnaded courtyard. At the four corners of the inner courtyard are the four minarets with a total of 10 balconies which by tradition indicates that Suleyman the Magnificent was the 10th Ottoman sultan.
The interior of the mosque is almost a square, 58.5 meters in length and 57.5 meters in width, forming a single vast space. The main dome is 47 meters high and has a diameter of 27.5 meters. The dome is flanked by two semi domes to the east and west; typana filled with windos to the north and south which supported by enormous porphyry monoliths. To hide the butresses Sinan find very good solution by incorporating the buttresses into the walls of the building. Half of the butrresses was projecting inside and half projecting outside. Then hide the projections by building colonnaded galleries. Inside building can be seen only a single gallery, outside the building two story gallery. Inside decoration of mosque is very simple. Very few tile decoration embellish the walls when compare with Blue Mosque.
The Suleymaniye complex consisted of a mosque, a hospital, a primary school, public baths, a Caravansaray, four medrasas, a specialized school for learning of Hadith, a medical college, and a public kitchen which served food to the poor. In the garden behind the main mosque there is a cemetory and two mausoleums include the tombs of Suleyman I (the Magnificent), his wife Roxelana, Suleyman II, Ahmed II and others belong to the royal family. Sinan Tomb is outside, to the north side of mosque seems a seal of Architect.
Suleymaniye Mosque on Google Maps
