This is the visit to the Suleiman Mosque (Istanbul): schedules

La Suleiman Mosque It is the most splendid of all Ottoman Istanbul.

As a monumental complex, it lives up to the name and importance of its creator, Suleiman the Magnificent, and it is also the best work in the Ottoman capital of the best architect of the empire, Architect Sinan.

There is no doubt that it is the most important Ottoman building in Istanbul and, probably, the second most important, among those that are preserved, in the entire history of the city, after Hagia Sophia.

La visit of the Suleiman mosque should not be missing from a minimally complete tour at any time. trip to Istanbul.

Located at the top of a hill, it dominates the urban landscape and is visible from many points of the city as its silhouette stands out from the rest, especially if we are in the area of ​​the city. Golden horn.

Suleiman Mosque in Istanbul, World Heritage Site

An interesting aspect is that the mosque is part of a complex, a complex of related and jointly managed buildings, consisting of schools, bathrooms, hospital, kitchen, caravanserai, cemetery and others.

This complex, in addition to some other constructions in the surrounding area, is included in the historical areas of istanbul registered on the list of World Heritage for the Unesco.

To appreciate the importance of this monument, it must be taken into account that the ordering of a great imperial mosque For such a sultan in a capital with so much history and so many important monuments involved many compromises.

Curiosities history of the Suleiman Mosque

The chosen location, on the highest hill in the city, on the site of an old palace, makes clear the importance that was attached to it.

La mosque It had to be magnificent and grandiose, like the sultan and his empire, and also a Muslim replica to the Justinian's Hagia Sophia, but at the same time it had to respect the canons of austerity dictated by the sunni orthodoxy that imposes simplicity in decoration.

The construction of the Suleiman Mosque, Suleymaniye Mosque in Turkish, it began in 1550 and finished in 1557, although the rest of the buildings were completed later.

La Suleiman Mosque, in any case, occupies the central place and is located in the middle of a courtyard surrounded on three sides by a lattice wall.

The north side takes advantage of the unevenness of the hill and is supported by a series of structures.

From this area you have a good view of the area of ​​the Galata Tower, Golden horn and Bosphorus.

Around the mosque and the patio are the rest of the buildings that complete the complex, all of them restored, but not all of them can be visited.

How to visit the Suleiman Mosque

As it continues to be an active mosque, the visit is subject to certain conditions.

La Admission is free, but they are Tourist visits prohibited during prayer hours, which may vary throughout the year.

In addition, some parts of the mosque are not accessible to tourists as they are reserved for worshipers.

As in all mosques, you must take off your shoes before entering and maintain minimum standards of decorum and silence, so women must have their hair covered and men cannot enter with shorts.

What to see when visiting the Suleiman Mosque

The mosque is accessed through a avlu, porticoed courtyard which in this case is exceptional, with splendid columns of porphyry, marble and granite.

The four minarets of the mosque They are located in the corners of the patio, not in those of the main building.

Two of them have three balconies, and the others only two, which adds up to ten balconies.

The symbolism of these numbers is that Suleiman it was the tenth ottoman sultan, but the fourth since they settled in Constantinople.

In the center of the patio is the fountain for ablutions.

Dimensions of the Suleiman Mosque

Upon entering the main space of the mosque, we will find ourselves in a practically square site of about 58 meters on a side.

El dome diameter It is 27,5 meters and its highest point is 47 meters above the ground.

These measurements are slightly lower than those of Hagia Sophia, but, in any case, we are facing one of the wonders of architecture XNUMXth century.

La summit It is supported by two semi-domes and two tympanums, a scheme similar to Hagia Sophia.

However, the two buildings are completely different from each other in all other architectural elements.

In this case everything forms a single immense space, not like in Hagia Sophia, where there are galleries and secondary spaces.

The fundamental weight of the structure rests on four immense pillars that are partly hidden in the wall.

Two of them (those on the opposite side of the patio) stand out and are visible from the outside, and the result is great lightness, an open space that is illuminated by the light that enters through several stained glass windows.

Decoration of the Suleiman Mosque

La decoration in the Suleiman Mosque It is quite sober, with a mirhab Marble, but very simple.

On the walls of the mosque there are several inscriptions made by master calligraphers, and the decoration is very discreet in which the use of tiles on the walls is relatively scarce.

However, this decoration with Iznik pottery It is especially beautiful and valuable because it has some of the oldest known examples.

As mentioned before, visitors can only access a small part of this central space, the floor of which is entirely covered by a thick carpet.

Outside, on the opposite side of the entrance courtyard, the Suleiman Mosque continues through a fenced garden where there are several tombs, among them those of Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Haseki Hurrem, known in the West as Roxelana.

Suleiman the Magnificent and the Ottoman Empire

It is time to remember that with Suleiman el Ottoman Empire reached its maximum splendor.

He became sultan in 1520, when he was 25 years old, and ruled until his death in 1566; It was the longest and most illustrious reign of the entire empire.

He substantially expanded the territory of the empire and his court was an important cultural focus.

However, the name of the magnificent It is only given in the West since in Türkiye it is known as the Encoder; This is due to the importance given to him as a legislator in a society subject to important transformations.

Monuments next to the Suleiman Mosque

Around the fenced garden that surrounds the mosque, the entrance courtyard and the tombs, are the buildings that make up the rest of the complex.

Among them, several stand out madrasah, koranic schools, some of which have a very peculiar layout to adapt to the unevenness of this area of ​​the city.

The most elaborate are those that can be seen from the looker, from which we have the views of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn.

At complex They also highlight the imaret, the great public kitchen, which is now a restaurant, and the old caravanserai.

It is advisable to spend a few minutes walking through this entire series of buildings, since in few places in the world you can find a similar complex due to its grandeur and harmony.

All of this, let us remember, is the work of the architect Sinan, so before leaving the place, you have to stop for a moment in your türbe, its Funerary monument, which is located in a small triangular garden to the north of the complex.

It is seen through a barred window and it is common to see someone dedicating a prayer or a memory to it.

It is not advisable to leave the neighborhood without walking for a while through the surrounding streets since they are where the highest concentration of wooden ottoman houses of all the historic neighborhoods of Istanbul.

Many have been restored and some have been converted into hotels and cafes, one of which, the Architect Sinan, it is supposed to occupy the house where the most important architect of the empire lived.

This cafe, like many others in the area, is promoted for its roofs, they are good viewpoints.

Just as the mosque is very visible from the area of ​​the Golden horn Being located on one of the seven hills of the city, from this area there are many places that offer good panoramas and they can be a perfect stop to rest and have a drink before continuing the walk through other neighborhoods of Istanbul.