Süleymaniye Mosque

The Süleymaniye Mosque was the imperial commission of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent to his chief architect Mimar Sinan, who called it his "masterwork" — the Süleymaniye's more famous Selimiye, in Edirne, he considered his journeyman work. Completed in 1557, it was the largest mosque in the city for 450 years.

The interior is a study in clarity rather than decoration. The dome is 26.5 meters across, but four semi-domes and supporting arches break it into a unified flowing space that hides its actual scale. The four minarets have ten galleries in total — Sinan reportedly said they were "the gold of Süleyman" (altın), since the Arabic word for ten (aşer) is a pun with the name Süleyman.

The garden courtyard has views across the Golden Horn — sunset from the terrace wall, with the Bosphorus and the dome of Hagia Sophia in one frame, is one of the city's small great moments. The complex includes the tombs of Süleyman and his wife Hürrem (Roxelana) in a garden on the northeast.

Free entry. Modest dress. The mosque is closed for 30 minutes during each of the five daily prayers.