Süleymaniye Mosque

The Süleymaniye Mosque (Süleymaniye Camii in Turkish) is one of the major mosques in İstanbul. It was built by order of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent in a very short period of construction between 1550 and 1557 and is an important work of the architect Sinan

The Suleymaniye Mosque is one of the grandest mosques in Istanbul. It towers majestically on the third hill of the old town above the Golden Horn.
It is the second largest prayer house in Istanbul after the Blue Mosque. The main dome has a sensational height of 50 meters and a diameter of 27 meters. Two large arches, located on the north and south sides, are each supported by two red granite columns. One of the columns comes from the Temple of Zeus in Baalbek (modern-day Lebanon), one from Alexandria and the other two from Byzantine palaces in Istanbul. They are said to symbolize the first caliphs in Islam.

Don't miss the tomb of Mimar Sinan, just outside the mosque.