Dictionary of islamic architecture

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Süleymaniye
Ottoman mosque complex in Istanbul built for Suleyman
the Magnificent between 1550 and 1557.
The complex consisted of a hospital, medical school,
hospice, soup kitchen, primary school, four
madrassas (colleges), shops and coffee houses in
addition to the mosque itself. The complex is built
on an artificial platform on top of a hill that overlooks
the Bosphorus; to the east the ground slopes away
rapidly. The mosque precinct contains three main
areas, the mosque itself in the centre, a courtyard to
the north and a tomb garden to the south which
contains the tomb of Suleyman and his wife. The
mosque is covered with a large central dome (25 m
diameter) with two large semi-domes of equal
radius, one above the north entrance and one above
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the mihrab. The central area is flanked by side aisles
covered by small domes of alternating size. Like that
of its predecessor the Sehzade Cami, the central
dome rests on four huge central piers placed in a
square. The whole building is illuminated with more
than a hundred windows and grilles, many of which
are filled with stained glass made by the celebrated
Ottoman glass-maker Ibrahim Sarhos. Outside at
each corner of the courtyard are four minarets with
balconies supported on muqarnas corbels. This is the
first Ottoman building in Istanbul to have four
minarets, although previously the Üç Serefeli in
Edirne also had four. The sides of the building are
enlivened with several entrances (three on each side)
approached by steps and two-tier arcaded galleries
placed between the outer corner buttresses.
The tomb garden behind the mosque contains a
large cemetery which has grown up around the
tombs of Suleyman and Roxelane. Both tombs are
octagonal structures in the traditional Ottoman
fashion, although Suleyman’s tomb unusually faces
east instead of north. Roxelane’s tomb is smaller and
placed to one side of Suleyman’s tomb which stands
in the middle of the garden. The interiors of both
tombs are decorated with Iznik tiles, although
Roxelane’s tomb is significantly less grand. Suley-
man’s tomb is surrounded by a colonnaded veranda
with a porch on the east side. This arrangement is
echoed internally where Suleyman’s sarcophagus is
surrounded by a circular colonnade.
The arrangement of the complex outside the
mosque precinct consists of an L-shaped
arrangement of buildings on the north-west side and
a smaller group to the east. The eastern complex is
built on a steep hill so the madrassas are stepped
into the hillside. On the north-west corner of the
complex is the tomb of the architect Sinan.