Historic Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul undergoes extensive restoration project
The Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, an architectural masterpiece by the chief Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, is undergoing a comprehensive restoration in its 454-year history.
The renovation project led by Gür Construction is expected to be completed by late 2010. The historic mosque, considered as one of the unique pieces of the world architecture, has been undergoing the most comprehensive restoration process of its history since 2007. The officials are aiming to complete the restoration project within 2010, the year Istanbul holds the title ‘European Capital of Culture’.
The mosque's colonnaded courtyards, minarets and outer courtyard have been carefully cleaned up. Imitation items that were added to the building during the previous renovations, such as cement-based blocks, have been replaced with pieces well-suited with the mosque's authentic structure, such as sandstone blocks. New Iznik ceramics have also been discovered in this process.
Previously unknown engravings from the classic era have been discovered from the mosque’s domes. Art historians are now working on the identification and restoration of these engravings. Original Iznik tiles predating the mosque’s 454-year history were discovered near the mosque’s pillars during the de-cementing of the so-called ‘elephant feet’ that hold the 53-meter-high central dome, measuring 26.50 meters in diameter. Technical reports on the conservation of the tiles have been completed, and work on them has already begun.
The main dome’s wooden tambour has been fixed and its golden sheet renewed. Calligraphic plates inside the mosque have been restored. The tapering top of one of the minarets damaged during earlier restorations has been replaced with a new one.
The Süleymaniye Mosque was built on the order of Sultan Suleiman I and was constructed by the great Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. The construction work began in 1550 and the mosque was finished in 1558.
Similar to other imperial mosques in Istanbul, Suleymaniye Mosque was designed as a kulliye, or complex with adjacent structures to service both religious and cultural needs. The original complex consisted of the mosque, a hospital, primary school, a Caravanserai, Koran schools, a specialized school for the learning of hadith, a medical college, as well as a public kitchen which served food to the poor.
