Süleymaniye Mosque

The Süleymaniye Mosque stands on the Third Hill of the historic peninsula of Istanbul, in the Fatih district, above the Golden Horn. It was commissioned by Sultan Suleiman I, known as Suleiman the Magnificent, and designed by the court architect Mimar Sinan.

Construction ran from 1550 to 1557. The mosque was the centre of a large complex, a külliye, that included madrasas, a hospital, a soup kitchen, a hammam, a caravanserai and shops. The mosque was damaged by fire in 1660 and by earthquakes, and restored several times. Suleiman and his wife Hürrem Sultan are buried in tombs in an enclosed cemetery behind the qibla wall, and Sinan's own tomb lies just outside the complex. The mosque is part of the Historic Areas of Istanbul UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The main dome is about 53 metres high and 26.5 metres in diameter, supported by four large piers and half domes on either side. Four minarets stand at the corners of the courtyard, with a total of ten balconies, a number often linked to Suleiman being the tenth Ottoman sultan. The interior is relatively restrained, with Iznik tiles around the mihrab, stained glass windows and calligraphy. Sinan designed the building to carry sound well and to channel smoke from oil lamps to a room where the soot was collected for ink. The garden terrace gives wide views over the Golden Horn.

Entry is free. Tourists may visit outside prayer times, and the mosque closes to visitors during the five daily prayers. Women must cover their hair, and all visitors must cover shoulders and knees and remove shoes.

It is the largest Ottoman-era mosque in Istanbul and is often counted among Sinan's finest works. Sinan himself regarded his later Selimiye Mosque in Edirne as his masterpiece. Suleiman had earlier asked him to build the Şehzade Mosque in memory of his son Şehzade Mehmed, and the Süleymaniye followed as the sultan's own foundation.

The mosque has needed repair several times. After the great fire of 1660, Sultan Mehmed IV paid for a restoration. Some repairs covered the original decoration with new plaster and paint, and it was 1956 before the building was fully restored. The prayer hall was restored again between 1961 and 1967, and during the most recent campaign, from 2007 to 2010, original decoration was found, partly uncovered and revived, bringing back some of the sixteenth-century look, except in the central dome.

Allow an hour for the mosque and tombs, and go mid-morning between the dawn and noon prayers.