Süleymaniye Mosque

The Süleymaniye Mosque is a grand hilltop structure built in the 16th century on the orders of, and named after, Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent in Istanbul, Turkey. It was designed by Sinan, one of the great architects of his time and architect-in-chief to Süleyman for almost 28 years. The mosque is smaller than the Hagia Sophia, but it is arguably a more graceful structure, measuring 194 feet long and 190 feet wide, with a main dome that is 174 feet high and 89 feet in diameter. It has four minarets, and domes descend in tiers from the central dome. In addition to the mosque itself, the complex housed many other structures, including a bathhouse, hospital, public kitchen to feed the poor, and several madrasahs. The mosque remains a superb example of the grace and sophistication of architecture at the peak of the Ottoman Empire and ranks as one of the world’s great buildings