Suleiman the Magnificent commissioned the Süleymaniye Mosque, and the architect Mimar Sinan designed it. Inscriptions give 1550 as the foundation date and 1557 as the inauguration. It is classed as classical Ottoman architecture. The central dome rises 174 feet (53 m) and is about 85 feet (26 m) across.
Four minarets carry ten balconies in all, which reflect that Suleiman was the tenth Ottoman sultan. The courtyard has a colonnaded peristyle of marble, granite and porphyry columns. Inside, stained-glass windows and Iznik tiles stand out. Behind the qibla wall are the octagonal mausoleums of Suleiman and Hürrem Sultan.
The mosque anchors a külliye, or complex, with madrasas, a hospital, a public kitchen and baths. Fires in 1660 and during the First World War caused damage. Full restoration came in 1956, with another in 2007 to 2010. UNESCO listed it with the Historic Areas of Istanbul in 1985.
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