The mosque was built by order of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent by the architect Sinan in 1550-1557. It accommodates more than 5,000 believers. The dome is 53 meters high, supported by four powerful columns with marble trim. There are 32 windows around the dome, and another 136 along the perimeter of the facade. The four minarets symbolize the number of great Turkish rulers who lived in Istanbul: Mehmed the Conqueror, Bayezid II, Selim Yavuz and Suleiman the Magnificent. In front of the mosque there is a large courtyard, the area of ​​which is almost equal to the area of ​​Suleymaniye itself. In the center there is a fountain with marble porticoes, and the entire complex is surrounded by a picturesque garden. In the courtyard of the mosque there is a cemetery, here in two neighboring mausoleums rest Suleiman himself and his beloved wife Hurrem (Roksolana) with their daughter Mihrimah.