SULEYMANIYE MOSQUE

Suleymaniye Mosque is the masterpiece of Sinan's genius; its aspect of grandeur and the classical proportions of its features are witness to the sure taste which presided at the construction of this unequalled and unsurpassable work. The sanctuary seems to caress the blue sky, and its harmonious dome invites us to think of the sumptuous centuries of the past, and carry us back by a retrospective imagination. The domes, the cupolas, the arcades are of a proportion and harmony in which everything has been studied and contrived to enchant the gaze. We wonder how such a mosque could have been realised, without floridity, without superfluous ornament... It is the mystery of its creator's talent...

It was Suleyman. the Law-Giver, called also the Magnificent, who presided at the construction of this mosque, which bears his name, Suleymaniye. During 46 years of his reign the Ottoman Empire reached the peak of its splendour; and the monarch seemed to rule his country from the height of the throne as from the sumit of a mountain... Suleyman well deserved the surname of "Legislator" for the great work he carried out in law and its codification. A great medal with his portrait in relief hangs in the American Parliament Chamber in honour of his memory.

The era of Sultan Suleyman was a golden age of literature, science, arts, technology, geography and military tactics. His strong personality identified itself with each ot these subjects. He presided in his sovereign manner over the whole knowledge, the science, the good taste and the leisure of his great century. It was on returning from his victorious campaign in Hungary that Suleyman the Magnificent decided on the construction of this unique sanctuary.

The builder of the mosque was the architectural genius Sinan, designer of thousands of hans, bridges, mosques, aqueducts and roads, whole his sovereign symbolised the glory and progress of his century. The mosque was begun in 1550 and finished in 1557. It is related that in order to strengthen the foundations, they dug down to sea-level.

A great courtyard with columns of antique marble surrounds the sanctuary; the porphyry columns placed on either side of the entrance gate are 90 cm in diameter; ten of the others are in white marble and the remaining twelve in granite. It is supposed that they come from the Hippodrome. The capitals are in the classical Turkish style.

The courtyards central fountain, which is square in shape is a rarity in that it is very carefully sculpted and the marble is held within a mesh of gilt bronze.

The interior of the mosque, which is spacious and fresh, is 57 metres by 60 metres, giving an area of 3420 square metres, surmounted by an imposing dome which has sent more than one thinker into reverie; there are two lateral cupolas and two other half-domes; the whole, placed on two massive vaults, welcomes us and invites devotion and pious admiration.

The great dome is 53 metres in height: it admits the daylight by 138 windows. At the four comers are placed four pillars in porphyry, two from Alexandria in Egypt and two taken from old palaces and churches of Istanbul The echo inside the mosque is one of the distinctive features of the building. If someone touches lightly with his foot a piece of the wood at the base of the columns, this slight sound is amplified and repeated, as anyone visiting the mosque can try for himself. This acoustic phenomenon has puzzled generations of master masons, but the mysteries of Sinan’s genius are unfathomable (his works, his writings, his memories are innumerable.)

Speaking of his architectural works Sinan said: the mosque of Sehzade is the work of a "Companion", the Suleymaniye of a "mason", and the Selimiye of Edirne of a "master-mason", arrived at mastery of his art.
Leaving the Suleymaniye by the east, we see the tomb of Suleyman and of his wife Hurrem Sultana (Roxelane) in the middle of the garden. Besides Sultan Suleyman, who rests in a pillared mausoleum, a speciality of the Great Sinan, other princes of the dynasty are buried nearby. The little mausoleum of Roxelane is remarkable for the colours of the tiles which decorate it.

But dominating everything are the four minarets of the Suleymaniye, which seem to pierce the sky but at the same time to protect those who sleep their last sleep in the shade of the balconies. These minarets, of which two are furnished with two balconies and the other two with three, have their history: the two first, with their four balconies symbolize the four monarchs whose reigns preceded that of Suleyman the Magnificent after the conquest of Constantinople, the total number of balconies amounts to 10 and signify that up to that time 10 Ottoman sovereigns had reigned over the Empire.

The Süleymaniye also includes a university, besides the sanctuaries and mausoleums contained in its enclosure, which represents everything needful for civilization; a theological school and hospital, of which one has been modernized as a gynecological clinic, are contained within the area of the enclosure; little shops for the use of artisans flank one wing of the mosque. To the south was the Department of the Cheikh-Al-Islamat, the main religious center during the Empire; student's lodgings, poorhouses and a canteen which distributed food to the needy; all these dependent buildings have been converted into a museum.

From the terrace of the mosque there is a superb view of the town. Up to now it is from Galata (Karakoy) Bridge that you have admired the Suleymaniye, now from the height of this sanctuary you can admire the historic city and see the bustle and animation of its streets and harbour. You will further understand what a gift our ancestors had for choosing the sites of their residences in the Metropolis. The great mosques, which crown our city with their majestic beauty, have been placed with a discriminating aesthetic sense at points dominating the various districts with their splendid architecture.

Thus, taking into consideration the architectural role of our sanctuaries it has been decided to forbid the erection of buildings damaging to the view and the beauty of the Suleymaniye, both those liable to block the view and those interfering with the perspective. The upper storeys of the Biological Institute have even been demolished and an order has been issued to decrease the height of the Manufacturers Blocks projected or in course of construction on the Boulevard Ataturk.

And now would you care to ask yourself where Sinan, the great architect of Suleymaniye lies? Well, he reposes modestly in a simple mausoleum of marble, in the vicinity of the imposing mosque... As a Turkish author, Rusen Esref said of him, he wished to sign his great work humbly, in the margin.