SÜLEYMANIYE MOSQUE

Description

Essentials about the Süleymaniye Mosque in brief

The Süleymaniye Mosque is one of the most magnificent mosques in Istanbul, which is so rich in mosques, and one of the main sights of the city. It is truly impossible to miss, as the mosque is majestically enthroned on the third hill of the Old City above the Golden Horn. The famous Ottoman master builder Mimar Sinan called it “my journeyman’s piece” – knowing full well that he would be remembered by his posterity with this architectural masterpiece.

The history of the Süleymaniye Mosque

The construction time of the Süleymaniye Mosque was an incredibly short seven years; it was completed in 1557. The client was Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Sinan announced to the sultan at the opening that the mosque would remain standing as long as the world would last. He was apparently so sure of the stability of the building, which stands on a foundation stabilized with piles made of particularly suitable cement. And Sinan was to be proved right. Like numerous other of his buildings in Istanbul, the Süleymaniye Mosque has survived a period of almost 500 years of more or less strong earthquakes without any significant damage.

The complex of the Süleymaniye Mosque

The Suleymaniye Mosque is located in a courtyard of 216 by 144 meters. The mosque itself is 59 meters long and 58 meters wide inside. Its main dome is 53 meters high and has a diameter of 27 meters. It thus has similar dimensions to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Istanbul’s main mosque. For the Süleymaniye Mosque, architect Sinan adopted the construction plan of a four-pillar mosque with a dome system of main dome, two half-domes and two shield walls, as it was also used at the Hagia Sophia. The Süleymaniye Mosque is thus considered exemplary of Ottoman architecture at its height.

With the enormous dimensions of its grounds, the mosque almost gives the impression of a city in its own right. Besides the main mosque with the prayer room and the forecourt with the purification well, the mosque complex consists of the following surrounding buildings: Two mausoleums, a cemetery, an astronomical observatory, several schools and universities, a hospital, a soup kitchen, a caravanserai, a water distribution station, a public bath, fountains and latrines.

The background to this “city around the mosque” was the long-standing custom in the Ottoman Empire not to build more magnificent mosques if there were already enough places of worship in a city. This was not considered very pious, and wastefulness was not approved in principle in Islam. Therefore, an entire mosque complex was often built with charitable institutions to legitimize additional magnificent buildings. At the same time, some of the facilities also served to finance the upkeep of the mosques.

In the garden behind the main mosque are the two mausoleums where Sultan Suleyman I, his wife, daughter, mother and sister, and Sultans Suleyman II, Ahmed II are buried. At the edge of the complex there is also the tomb of the master builder Sinan.

A special architectural detail are the four minarets dedicated to Suleyman with a total of ten circumambulations. The number 4 indicates that Suleyman was the fourth sultan after the conquest of Constantinople. The circumambulations symbolize that he was the tenth Ottoman ruler.

The interior of the Süleymaniye Mosque

Anyone dazzled by the impressive dimensions of the mosque will be surprised at how surprisingly simple the interior is. The walls are covered with exquisite Iznik tiles. Magnificent stained glass windows adorn and illuminate the interior of the mosque in wonderful colors. A truly unique tradition of the Suleymaniye Mosque are the ostrich eggs hanging between the oil lamps. The black eggs were cooked with special spices and herbs, the smell of which was supposed to deter spiders. The mosque is also known for its phenomenal acoustics. Master builder Sinan had more than 60 bulbous clay cylinders inserted between massive pillars for this purpose.