We visited the incredible mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent on the last day of our city break to Istanbul in Turkey last year.
The mosque sits high on a hill to the side of the old town. It was built in the 1550s, and its one of the most beautiful buildings and settings I've ever seen.
We made our way there first thing in the morning from our hotel through a maze of back streets and bazaars, which were great to see in themselves.
On getting to the mosque we emerged onto this lovely elevated position that looks over the rest of the city, which was quite a change from the tightly packed back streets we took to get there.
The weather was just stunning and we had this amazing view out to the new town across the beautifully domed roof top of the Madrasa next to the mosque.
Went entered into the mosque via the courtyard.
As with all the great mosques in Istanbul, the workmanship was quite incredible, and you could see this within the beautiful arches and domes around the courtyard.
Inside, the mosque had a lovely red carpet which picked up the colours of the internal decoration. I just love these massive suspended lighting frames that they all seem to have.
The internal domes were mind bogglingly impressive. The mosque only took 7-8 years to build and it just baffles me as to how they managed it all those years ago, to the level of detail you see.
The colours against the white marble were just beautiful. I really do love those striped arches.
You could easily get a sore neck there. Just simply standing and looking up at the splendour.
How they mapped out the nested domes is beyond me - the planning and architecture is just stunning.
To one side of the mosque was this beautiful graveyard, which also contained the tome of the sultan.
It was possible to enter the tomb which was also highly decorated, and contained the resting place of Sulieman the Magnificent, among others. I just didnt expect to see that.
As per the plaque on the end, he was 46 when he passed away. Young by our standards, but had achieved so much.
I have to say I really enjoyed the visit to this mosque. We had also visited the blue mosque and the Hagia Sophia, but there was just something very special about the setting and set up of the Suleiman mosque, and particularly that stunning view over the city. I'm so glad that we made the effort to go and see it because we'd already seen quite a few already on the trip, and it would have been easy for us to skip it. For me it was an absolute must see.
I certainly wouldnt hesitate to go back - it was an incredible place to see.
