SÙleymaniye Mosque

The largest mosque in Istanbul. It took 7 years to build till 1557 and is an iconic landmark of the city.

The SÙleymaniye Mosque is another imperial mosque in Istanbul. It is truly one of the most magnificent sights in the city. It was built by Mimar Sinan, widely regarded as one of the best architects of the era. The mosque complex has several buildings that were built to serve as hospitals, Quran and primary schools, public baths and others. It has a massive courtyard with 4 minarets on each corner, and the main mosque has a main dome surrounded by many smaller ones. The colonnade style is extremely pronounced, with marble, graphite and porphyry columns adorning the exterior of the mosque. The interiors of the building are simple yet breathtaking. The Iznik tiles are used minimally but enough to subtly add to the aura. The mihrab, like the other imperial mosques is made out of marble, and is extremely understated in it's beauty. The buttresses were incoporated into the walls, with colonnaded galleries which make the mosque more spacious. The woodwork too isn't over the top, and you can see the efforts put into making the mosque simplistic yet splendid.