Selimiye Mosque Claimed

In an astonishing architectural achievement, although they are very long, they were built in the thinnest way possible, and three different staircases were placed on two of them, which did not intersect with each other on the way to the balconies. Mimar Sinan, who left magnificent works in the history of world architecture, defines this mosque as "My Masterpiece".

The monumental building, built by Mimar Sinan at the age of 80 and called "my masterwork", is one of the masterpieces of Ottoman-Turkish art and world architectural history. The property of the building belongs to the Sultan Selim Foundation.

Architect for Selimiye Mosque illuminated by 999 windows. They ask Sinan why 999 windows and not 1000. He replies, "It's easy to just say 'thousand' and ignore it. '999' should be said so that the magnitude of the matter can be understood."

The mosque has four elegant minarets with three balconies each, with a diameter of 3.80 cm and a height of 70.89 m. Each balcony towards the entrance can be accessed via separate paths, while the other two can be accessed via a single path. In addition to its inaccessible architectural features, the mosque is also extremely important with its decorative features such as stone, marble, tile, wood and mother-of-pearl.

Two of the minarets of Selimiye Mosque have three stairs each. These minarets are in the northeast and northwest corners of the mosque courtyard. The stairs allow the muezzins to ascend to three separate balconies without hindering each other.

The 5-tiered windows of the mosque describe the 5 pillars of Islam. The giant dome with a diameter of 32 meters marks the 32 obligations of Islam. 4 preaching platforms describe 4 sects. "The fact that the rear minarets have 6 paths represents the 6 pillars of faith, and the fact that the minarets have 12 balconies in total represents the 12 obligations of prayer," he said.

The east-west axis and internal height of its dome are greater than Hagia Sophia. There are many reasons why Selimiye Mosque is a masterpiece of Mimar Sinan.

The reason why Edirne was chosen

More realistic interpretations on this subject point out that there was no need for a new large mosque in Istanbul at that time, that Edirne was the center of Ottoman rule in Rumelia, and that Selim had a special love for the city since his youth.

The most important feature that distinguishes Selimiye from other mosque architectures is its dome, which is built as a single dome without support from any semi-dome. The dome, which is located on a drum mounted on 8 columns of elephant feet and surprises those doing research on architecture and engineering, is 43 meters high and 32 meters in diameter.

Mimar Sinan Tomb is on the left after exiting the columned gate of the Istanbul Mufti's Office, on the right at the beginning of the Fatwa Hill at the intersection of two streets, in front of the Golden Horn wall of the Süleymaniye Mosque,

The construction of the mosque, which started in 1568 by the order of Selim II, took seven years with the intense work of thousands of people and was completed in 1575. Mimar Sinan also described the mosque, which is considered the most important work of Ottoman architecture, as "my masterwork".

Work has been initiated to grow the "inverted tulip", one of the important figures of Mimar Sinan's masterwork, Selimiye Mosque, in Edirne. The inverted tulip motif on the marble foot of the muezzin's gallery in the mosque, which is the subject of many rumors, attracts the attention of visitors.

We know that rail systems were first invented by Mimar Sinan in the 16th century, but Europe used these rail systems, and the Japanese were influenced by this and started using rail systems. Of course, since it was the 16th century, we do not know exactly who invented it by Mimar Sinan.

The Chief Architect asks, "Is it possible to smoke hookah in the mosque? You wouldn't do this job. What is the wisdom behind this?" Sinan replies: "My Sultan, be careful, there is no tömbeki or tobacco in my hookah. I only control the distribution of the sound caused by the bubbling of water within the mosque.

The Inverted Tulip is a motif the size of a sparrow engraved on one of the pillars that hold up the muezzin's gallery of the Selimiye Mosque. Nowadays, it has become so famous that those who come to the mosque want to leave behind the magnificence of this unique work of Sinan and see the inverted tulip. Man is helpless before God.

Mimar Sinan, who created works in many cities of the empire, defined the stages he achieved in architecture with 3 large social complexes. Sinan described the Şehzade Mosque, which he completed in 1548, as an "apprentice work", the Süleymaniye, which he completed in 1557, as a "journeyman's work", and the Selimiye, which was opened for worship in 1575, as a "masterwork".

He built 375 works, including 81 mosques, 51 masjids, 55 madrasahs, 26 darül-kurras, 17 tombs, 17 almshouses, 3 hospitals, 5 waterways, 8 bridges, 20 caravanserais, 36 palaces, 8 cellars and 48 baths. . The Selimiye Mosque he built in Edirne is on the World Cultural Heritage list.