Suleiman Mosque was built in Istanbul by order of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and is truly considered one of the most outstanding architectural structures of the East. The time when Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent ruled (1520-1566), historians have dubbed the Golden Age of Istanbul. The dominant force in world politics at that time was the Ottoman Empire, which was experiencing its heyday and reached its peak like the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Justinian. For this reason, this period is considered the peak of power in Turkish history.
This mosque, located on one of the seven hills of the city and rising into the sky, is considered a masterpiece of architectural art. The mosque was erected by the architect Sinan. The construction was started in 1550 and completed in 1557. The architect Sinan has been immortalised as "an architect who did not need architectural planning".
This eminent renowned architect created between 1490-588, and during his fifty years of creation he was in the position of chief court architect to five Turkish padishahs. He built about four hundred monuments of architecture. In Sinan's work there are many similarities with the great Michelangelo. According to his designs was built madrasa in Mecca, a mosque in Budapest and many other structures.
According to the existing legend, the construction of the mosque and the complex was carried out for 7 years. The building of the mosque is considered very resistant to earthquakes. When the mosque was inaugurated, Sinan said: "This mosque will stand forever." The words of the famous architect are confirmed by the history of earthquakes that happened during 500 years. During this period, twenty-four important monuments, which Sinan built, were not affected by 89 serious earthquakes up to seven points on the Richter scale.
The architect embodied the grandiose ideas of Suleiman the Magnificent. Built between 1550 and 1557, the mosque gave Istanbul a certain glamour that nothing could match. Sinan wrote in his autobiography that the Aya Sofia Temple was the most important criterion for evaluating all the creations he created. He always wanted to prove to everyone that "one can build better than the Greeks". The Süleyman Mosque was indeed the most striking proof that Sinan had succeeded in surpassing the architects who created under Justinian.
The building of the Sultan Süleyman Mosque is based on four columns. Above the columns, made of red granite, pointed arches, brought specially from Baalbek from Hippodrome Square, connect the adjoining domed rooms with the main building. Above the mihrab are the half-domes (these are niches showing the direction to Mecca), which are in perfect harmony with the adjoining domed rooms. They thus give the whole surrounding building freedom and liberation. The height of the mosque is 49.5 metres and the diameter of the dome is 26.2 metres.
Viewing the mosque proudly perched on the hills is particularly pleasant from the Bosphorus and Galata Bridge. The four minarets with ten balconies are a symbol of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, who was the tenth sultan of the Ottoman Empire ("the tenth son of Osman") and the fourth of them to ascend the throne after the conquest. The architect Sinan erected two minarets slightly shorter than the others. This is an ingenious decision that was intended to make the mosque built on the hill, more harmonious.
The complex of the great Süleymaniye Mosque can be called a city within a city. Besides the mosque itself, it includes a Koran school, a Turkish bath, a caravanserai, an orphanage, several hospitals, toilets, and artisans' shopping rows. The view of the old chenar trees and the small fountain is particularly fascinating.
The floor of the mosque is carpeted, and it is well lit inside, with light coming in from one hundred and thirty-six expensive, beautiful stained glass windows decorated with ancient writing-quotations from the Koran. The calligraphic inscription on the dome reads: "Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. His light is like a niche; in it is a lamp; the lamp is in glass; the glass is like a pearl star. It is kindled from the blessed tree, the olive tree, neither east nor west. Its oil is ready to ignite, though it be not touched by fire. Light in the world! Allah leads to his light whomever he wills!"
Behind the mosque is the cemetery where Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife, Hürrem Sultan, rest. Some Venetian wrote about Suleiman: "The Sultan was so in love and devoted to his wife that all the subjects were sure that Hürrem Sultan had bewitched him". Hürrem Sultan was a Slav. She was known as "Roxalana" among the Europeans of Istanbul, and remained unapproachable to Suleiman until the Sultan promised to marry her. A precedent of this kind had never been set among the sultans of the Ottoman Empire.
Not far from the Süleymaniye Mosque, at the crossroads named after the architect, is Sinan's humble tomb.
