Photo by Niyazi Uğur Genca

If, among all the masterpieces which are imbued with the genius of Master Sinan Master and of his pupils, there is one that fills more perfectly than the others these fundamental conditions of Ottoman architecture, it is undoubtedly the Süleymaniye. Situated at the top of a hill dominating the Kantarcılar district between the Ministry of Wlar and the Office of the Sheikhulislam, the Süleymaniye soars majestically towards the sky with nothing to hinder its ascent. From the vast platform of its enclosure, one captures at a single glance Europe and Asia, the two seas that bathe Istanbul, and the smiling Princes Isles. Further still, in the vaporous transparency of the horizon, the giant Bithynian Olympus takes shape against a pure sky, standing like an ever present witness to the memory of the cradle of ancient Ottoman power. Confronted by such a tableau, the spirit can conceive only noble ideas. Founded in year 964 of the Hegira (1556 of the Christian era) by Sultan Süleyman the Lawgiver, for whom history has also decreed the names of “the Great” and “the Magnificent’; the Süleymaniye is preceded by an interior court or square flanked by four minarets. By this number, according to tradition, the founder wanted to indicate that he was the  fourth  Ottoman  sovereign  since  the  aonquest  of Constantinople.  In the same way, the total number of the bal conies of its minarets indicates that he was the tenth sultan since Osman Ghazi, the glorious root of his line.

Photo by Niyazi Uğur Genca

The two minarets located at the two sides of the facade have two balconies each, and the two other two, which are at the other end of the square on each side öf the porch, have three balconies each. The total number, for the four minarets, yields ten balconies, all with corbelling in stalactites. Three beautiful doors whose open- ings are formed of flattened curues are each surmounted by an ogee arch and give access through the frontage and the two other sides of the courtyard. A cloister of twenty four arcades runs around and is supported by an equal number of columns. The pair closest to the door in the facade are of porphyry;  of the remainder, twelve columns of pink granite alternate with ten of white marble. All are of the crystallized order. Their capitals are of white marble, and the edges of their stalactites heavily gilded.

Over time, the number of books in the Suleymaniye Library increased with the transfers of books from various places with several different reasons. There are 74,000 manuscripts and printed books. It is open 7 days a week between 09:00 – 19:00 and admittance is free.