Suleymaniye

Suleymaniye Mosque is located on Istanbul’s third hill, which makes its presence very prominent in the cityscape. It was built as a socio-religious complex under Sultan Suleyman’s patronage and designed by his chief architect, Mimar Sinan. The complex’s architectural organization follows a hierarchical system. The religious center, composed of the mosque, the inner and outer courtyards, together with the mausoleum tombs of Sultan Suleyman and his wife Haseki Hurrem Sultan, occupies the compound’s highest point. The dependencies, which include buildings dedicated to various social and educational functions from madrasas to a public kitchen, radiate downwards from the mosque’s grouping. As seen in this picture, the domes’ sizes also respond to hierarchical criteria; the mosque’s prayer hall, as the spiritual center, has the largest and grandest one, followed by the royal mausoleums (on the left side) and the dependencies bearing the smaller ones.