ISTANBUL - SULEYMANIYE MOSQUE

History Elevation and plan published by Cornelius Gurlitt in 1912 Suleyman The Magnificent chose the architect Mimar Sinan to create a mosque in remembrance of his son Shehzade Mehmed. Suleyman was beyond impressed with Sinan's completion that he decided to have him design a mosque after himself. This mosque would represent the eminence of the Ottoman Empire.[1] Sinan built around two hundred buildings in Constantinople.[2] He used the inspiration of the Hagia Sophia and the Bayezid II Mosque to design the Süleymaniye Mosque. [3] This holy structure replaced the old palace of Topkapi which still had functional use at the time. However, ordered by Sultan, the palace was demolished and redeveloped. [4] The construction of the mosque was ordered by Sultan Süleyman (Süleyman the Magnificent), and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. The Arabic foundation inscription above the north portal of the mosque is carved in Thuluth script on three marble panels. It gives a foundation date of 1550 and an inauguration date of 1557. In reality the planning of the mosque began before 1550 and parts of the complex were not completed until after 1557.[5] The design of the Süleymaniye also plays on Süleyman's self-conscious representation of himself as a 'second Solomon.' It references the Dome of the Rock, which was built on the site of the Temple of Solomon, as well as Justinian's boast upon the completion of the Hagia Sophia: "Solomon, I have surpassed thee!"[6] The Süleymaniye, similar in magnificence to the preceding structures, asserts Süleyman's historical importance. The structure is nevertheless smaller in size than its older archetype, the Hagia Sophia. The Süleymaniye was damaged in the great fire of 1660 and was restored by Sultan Mehmed IV.[7] Part of the dome collapsed during the earthquake of 1766. Subsequent repairs damaged what was left of the original decoration of Sinan (recent cleaning has shown that Sinan experimented first with blue, before making red the dominant color of the dome).[8] During World War I the courtyard was used as a weapons depot, and when some of the ammunition ignited, the mosque suffered another fire. Not until 1956 was it fully restored again. . Email: ucarakkesfet@gmail.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/ucarakkesfet Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ucarakkesfet?lang=en YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NecatKalkan Facebook: https://tr-tr.facebook.com/ucarakkesfet Twitter:https://twitter.com/ucarakkesfet