RELIGIOUS COMPLEX OF SOLIMAN THE MAGNIFICENT

The complex was completed almost at the same time as the mosque. The complex soon became the symbol of the Ottoman classical period through its architectural organization, the mastery in the location and layout of the buildings, and its economic and cultural functions. Built on a steep terrain of about 60 hectares, the buildings are installed in a precise geometric order. The complex included a mosque, several medersas, mausoleums and a college for Qur'anic reading(darül kurra), a college for the study and analysis of the sayings of the Prophet(darül hadis), guards' apartments, a medical college, a dispensary, a canteen, a hospice, a hammam, a han (caravanserai) for trade, a library and numerous shops. All the buildings are surrounded by a large enclosure with ten different entrance gates. The Süleymaniye Mosque, for Sinan, corresponds to the period he calls the "companionship period", preceding his time of full mastery. Many European travellers who visited Istanbul since the 16th century have described this building as 'the most beautiful monument in Istanbul'. Very bright thanks to its 138 windows, the mosque is enhanced with stained glass windows that are the work of Sarhoş Ibrahim. Placed on either side of the large courtyard, the rooms and classrooms were spread out behind a peristyle covered with domes. Stop by the former medical university, the Dökmeci Hammam (Hammam of the Founders), the caravanserai and the elementary school, which is now a youth library. The founder of this complex, Suleiman the Magnificent, is buried in the imposing mausoleum with a covered peristyle of 28 columns in front of the mihrab (niche).

Süleymaniye Mosque. The cascading domes and four slender minarets of the Süleymaniye Mosque dominate the skyline on the west bank of the Golden Horn. Built between 1550 and 1556 by Sinan, it is considered the finest of Istanbul's imperial mosques. Suleiman wanted to build an Ottoman equivalent of Hagia Sophia. The Mosque of Suleiman symbolizes the Ottoman Empire at its peak. The calligraphy is by Ahmed Karahisarı, who could write words in sixty ways. The silhouette of Süleymaniye with its 4 minarets (Suleiman was the fourth Ottoman sultan in Istanbul) dominates the Golden Horn.