Suleymaniye Mosque and Complex

The Süleymaniye Mosque is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Third Hill of Istanbul, overlooking the Golden Horn and the surrounding city. Commissioned by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan, an inscription specifies its foundation in 1550 and its inauguration in 1557, though work on the broader complex continued for a few years afterward. It is considered a masterpiece of Ottoman architecture and remains the largest Ottoman-era mosque in the city.

Like other imperial foundations, the mosque forms part of a vast külliye or religious and charitable complex, including madrasas, a public kitchen, a hospital, and a primary school. Behind the qibla wall lies an enclosed cemetery housing the separate octagonal mausoleums of Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Hürrem Sultan. Furthermore, the mosque and its associated conservation area constitute one of the four components of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Areas of Istanbul."

The architecture of the mosque exemplifies classical Ottoman design. Its central dome rests on four massive piers, reaching a height of 53 meters with a diameter of 27.5 meters, supported by two semi-domes. The courtyard features four minarets at its corners: the two adjacent to the mosque have three balconies and rise to 76 meters, while the northern ones have two balconies and stand at 56 meters. These four minarets and their total of ten balconies symbolically signify Suleiman's status as the tenth Ottoman sultan.

Having endured earthquakes and fires over the centuries, the mosque was repaired following the great fire of 1660 and partially collapsed during the 1766 earthquake. After various historical restorations and 20th-century interventions, the structure underwent its most comprehensive modern restoration between 2007 and 2010. This extensive project preserved original mortars, plasters, and decorations while removing inappropriate cement additions to safeguard the historic integrity of Sinan's masterpiece.