Suleymaniyye & Suleyman's Tomb

Ayasofya's beauty and massive dome were some of the elements that supposedly inspired Sinan, Suleyman's chief architect, to fill the surrounding city and empire with mosques and other structures that he hoped would rival it. The Suleymaniyye Camii is supposed to be his major attempt to match the other monumnent. Unfortunately, since the mosque itself is still closed for renovations (according to Amanda that makes three years running) I was unable to judge for myself. I was able to make my way into a part of the courtyard with a small graveyard that featured the tombs of Suleyman and his wife Roxelana. While the tomb itself was not much different from those of the other sultans that I visited that day, the fact that it was the tomb of Suleyman was enough to make it a pretty special experience. I sat off to the side for a while enjoying both the cool spot out of the sunlight and the beautiful interior before making my way back out to continue the day. On my way back down the hill to the next mosque I found the tomb of Sinan (picture 5) tucked away in a back corner of the mosque complex. It's pretty remarkable that the man responsible for designing so many monumental structures has such a humble little tomb for himself.