Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ottoman Architecture
After the Conquest, the sultans wasted no time in putting their architectural stamp on
the city. Mehmet didn't even wait until he had the city under his control, building the
Once in the city, Mehmet kicked off a centuries-long Ottoman building spree, constructing
a number of buildings including a mosque on the fourth hill. After these he started work on
IZZET KERIBAR ©
Mehmet had a penchant for palaces, but his great-grandson, Süleyman the Magnificent,
was more of a mosque man. With his court architect, Mimar Sinan, he built the greatest of
the city's Ottoman imperial mosques. Sinan's prototype mosque form has a forecourt with a
şadırvan (ablutions fountain) and domed arcades on three sides. On the fourth side is the
mosque, with a two-storey porch. The main prayer hall is covered by a central dome sur-
rounded by smaller domes and semidomes. There was usually one minaret, though imperial
mosques had either two or four; and one imperial mosque, the later
Blue Mosque
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