It seems fitting for sultan Süleyman I, who was compared to the legendary builder-king Solomon, to be a friend of Mimar Sinan, the chief architect of the Ottoman Empire.  It was designed as an imperial kulliye like the Hagia Sophia, and established by imperial creed in Istanbul.  Completed in 1554, the mosque does not have a large dome.  Being 20 years earlier than Sinan’s Edirne mosque with 20 years less experience, the building is still mature in the way its parts came together.  The building was copied in 19th century Egypt.

We moved to observe that the porch columns were borrowed.  The mosque appeared too tall.  The Fatih tomb was off center.  Its axiality consisted of the mihrab, entrance and gate.  The madrasas, Koranic schools, medical school, hospital and welfare components surrounded the mosque.  At this site, Mimar Sinan was buried.

Mimar Sinan Türbesi (1490-1588): When Sinan was in the process of the complex, he acquired a piece of property as he knew he would be buried here.  I remember seeing the tomb with domed water dispenser and the empty plot of his endowed school and residence.  The air was somber, the place quiet.  The revered tomb is noted at the top of my sketch.  At the bottom of my sketch is the mosque’s central fountain.  It illustrates the enormous size of the north facade from the forecourt of the mosque.