One of the things I've set out to do in the coming months is to document as much as I can about the trips and destinations I've visited with my family. I've already written about some of the places we visited in December 2019 in Istanbul, but I still have so much more to tell about this magical city.
And the first place we visited when we arrived in the city was the Süleymaniye Mosque. This mosque was the largest in the city until 2019. It is an imposing building located on one of the seven hills of the city.
Our visit was in the late afternoon. As we were staying in the Sirkeci area, near the Eminönü harbor, we decided to walk there. The hill where the mosque is located is in the traditional neighborhood of Faith. It was a short distance from where we were, but there were a few steep streets to walk to get to the mosque.
The mosque might look like a Byzantine temple if it were not adorned with four impressive minarets.
The mosque has three entrances, two of which lead to the outer courtyard and the third which we entered leads to the inner courtyard.
In the center of the inner courtyard, there is a fountain for ablutions.
The Mosque was built by the architect Mimar Sinan, commissioned by Sultan Suleyman, known in history as Suleiman the Magnificent, who reigned at the height of the Ottoman Empire.
The interior of the mosque is somewhat minimalist in appearance but impressive for its size. At the time of our visit it was prayer time, but perhaps because of the sheer size of the place I didn't feel that deep air of a place of worship that you get in the Eyüp mosque for example.
The mosque, built on the third of the city's seven hills, stands on the site of a former Byzantine palace, which was obsolescent after the fall of Constantinople and the establishment of the Ottoman Empire and the construction of the Topkapi Palace.
From what I have read, one of the wishes of the architect Sinan was to surpass the magnificent Hagia Sophia, especially its grandiose dome.
From the garden in the outer courtyard, two mausoleums with the tombs of Sultan Suleyman, his wife Hurrem Sultan, also known in history as Roxelana, and other tombs of relatives can be visited.
Inside the mausoleums, which I didn't find very grandiose, to tell the truth, it wasn't possible to take pictures but only videos and it was a bit dark when we visited, so I owe the pictures to you.
But what they are stunning is the views from the gardens in the outer courtyard of the mosque towards the Golden Horn. They are simply breathtaking.
Iconic landmarks such as the Galata Tower and the Galata Bridge are easily distinguishable.
We came out of the mosque, and the outside lights were already on.
From there, we walked to the nearby Mısır Çarşısı (Spice Bazaar), which I will talk about on another occasion.
Later that evening when we were walking across the Galata Bridge, which spans the Golden Horn, we captured this picture of the majestic and illuminated Süleymaniye Mosque on the hill in the background of Eminönü harbor activity.
That's all for today, until next time.
Thank you very much for reading.
February 22, 2022