Why Does The Suleymaniye Mosque Look Like The Hagia Sophia?

Before my trip to Istanbul, I was trying to collect a complete list of tourist places so that I could visit them all. When I was looking at the pictures of different places in Istanbul, I noticed the similarity between Suleymaniye Mosque and Hagia Sophia.

Of course, at first I thought that these two places are the same place and maybe they call them by different names. But when I checked their exact location and photo, I realized that these two places are different from each other.

This similarity made me curious and I decided to investigate the reason for the similarity between these two places when I arrived in Istanbul. In the rest of the article, I intend to share the information I obtained with you.

Why does the Suleymaniye mosque look like the Hagia Sophia?

According to my research, I found out that Suleymaniye Mosque was built after Hagia Sophia and was inspired by Hagia Sophia in its construction.

Architect Sinan built the Sulaymaniyah Mosque by following the example of the Hagia Sophia Mosque. During the construction of the Sulaymaniyah Mosque, he modeled different parts of the Hagia Sophia, such as the large dome, windows and minarets, and for this reason, the Sulaymaniyah Mosque is similar to the Hagia Sophia.

Hagia Sophia Mosque was built as a church in the 6th century AD, but after the conquest of Istanbul by the Ottomans, the name of this church was changed to Hagia Sophia Mosque.

In the 16th century, the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Great decided to build a mosque in Istanbul to show the greatness and power of the Ottoman Empire. For this reason, he ordered the architect Sinan to design a mosque that was more beautiful than Hagia Sophia.

The architect Sinan built the Suleymaniye Mosque using the general model of Hagia Sophia, but it was more completed and advanced.

After researching and knowing that Suleymaniye was built over Hagia Sophia, I decided to go to these two places myself and check their similarities and differences.

Similarities between Hagia Sophia and Suleymaniye

Looking at both mosques from a distance, I could hardly distinguish which one is Suleymaniye and which one is Hagia Sophia because the domes, minarets, and even half-domes built next to the main dome are completely similar.

This similarity continued until their entrance, in such a way that when I wanted to enter the Suleymaniye Mosque, I felt like I was going to visit the Hagia Sophia Mosque again because even their entrances were similar until the moment of entering.

Both of these places have a dome and 4 minarets, which are similar at first glance but differ in details.

For example, Hagia Sophia’s dome was bigger than Suleymaniye’s dome. Still, Hagia Sophia’s minarets are shorter than Suleymaniye’s minarets and are only 55 meters high, while Suleymaniye’s minarets are 76 meters high.

The construction of four tall minarets with ten balconies in Suleymaniye Mosque was not accidental and just for beauty, but these minarets have a special mystery. This special design shows that Sultan Suleiman was the 10th Ottoman king, the fourth emperor to sit on the throne after the conquest of Constantinople.

Architect Sinan has combined Islamic and Byzantine architecture to build the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul. Many parts of this mosque, such as the dome and minarets, are reminiscent of Byzantine churches.

Differences between Suleymaniye Mosque and Hagia Sophia

As can be expected, Suleymaniye Mosque is newer than Hagia Sophia and has very special facilities. It is also more beautiful in stonework and interior design.

However, one of the wonders of Suleymaniye Mosque is its advanced ventilation system. This system is such that heat enters the mosque from the floor of the mosque by means of water, which was a masterpiece in its engineering and construction at that time.

Also, the way of making doors and windows in the Suleymaniye mosque, which includes 138 windows, is such that the sunlight is used in the best way, and no lack of light is felt during the day.

Suleymaniye Mosque has facilities such as a school, bathroom, library, caravanserai, hospital, and public kitchen. Of course, these facilities also exist in Hagia Sophia, but their style and design are completely different.

All in all

Although both of these mosques are similar, they also have special features that make it necessary to visit both of them. Apart from their exterior architecture, the interior of these 2 mosques is different from each other.

Since the primary use of Hagia Sophia was the church, the symbols of the Byzantine period and the architectural style of that period have been used a lot. However, Suleymaniye used Islamic signs and combined the architecture of Islam with the Byzantine period.

If you have enough time, visit both, but if you don’t have enough time, visit Suleymaniye first because it is similar to Hagia Sophia and newer.

In the end, I suggest you read the “Where is hagia sophia located?” article for more information.