Half day (about 3 to 4 hours) · Istanbul
Istanbul Hammam Experience: A Turkish Bath in a Sinan Bathhouse
An Istanbul hammam experience in a historic bathhouse by Mimar Sinan: the…
Best for First-time visitors · Layover
Topic
Works of Mimar Sinan
The mosques, tombs and aqueducts of the Ottoman Empire's great architect, in Istanbul and Edirne.
Photo: Dosseman / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
25 pieces on this topic
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Place · Istanbul
Süleymaniye Hamam
The bath of Sinan's great Süleymaniye complex, heated by a wood fire below the marble and run today as a hamam for…
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Place · Istanbul
Kılıç Ali Paşa Hamam
Mimar Sinan's bath for the sailors of Tophane, built for a great Ottoman admiral and working again since a seven-year restoration.
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Place · Istanbul
Mimar Sinan Tomb
The modest tomb the great Ottoman architect built for himself beside his Süleymaniye, with a domed fountain at the street corner.
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Place · Istanbul
Zeyrek Çinili Hamam
Mimar Sinan's tiled bath for the admiral Barbaros Hayreddin, restored after 13 years as a working hamam with a museum and a…
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Place · Edirne
Ali Paşa Bazaar
Mimar Sinan's covered market street of 1569 in Edirne, built for the grand vizier Semiz Ali Paşa, rebuilt after the fire of…
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Article · Bursa
Bursa or Edirne: Which Ottoman Capital to Visit
Bursa or Edirne? Green-tiled mosques, silk markets, hot springs and İskender kebab, or Sinan's Selimiye Mosque and an old capital on two…
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Place · Istanbul
Zal Mahmud Pasha Mosque
The Zal Mahmud Pasha Mosque in Eyüp: one of Mimar Sinan's last works, finished around 1580 on two levels, with two rows…
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Person · Istanbul
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman the Magnificent, the longest-reigning Ottoman sultan: his wars, his laws, Hürrem Sultan, the mosques of Sinan and his portrait in the…
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Person · Istanbul
Hürrem Sultan
The captive from Ruthenia who became Suleiman the Magnificent's wife, the first Haseki Sultan and the patron of mosques, baths and soup…
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Article · Istanbul
Magnificent Century: The Real Places of Suleiman and Hürrem in Istanbul
Magnificent Century (Muhteşem Yüzyıl): the Turkish series about Suleiman and Hürrem, fact and fiction, and the real places in Istanbul you can…
Tours
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Full day (about 7 hours) · Istanbul
Istanbul Asian Side Private Tour: Üsküdar, Kuzguncuk, Kadıköy and Moda
A private Istanbul Asian side tour: Ottoman mosques in Üsküdar, the village…
Best for Returning visitors
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Full day (about 6 hours) · Istanbul
Private Ottoman Tombs Tour in Istanbul: Eyüp to Süleymaniye
A private Ottoman tombs tour in Istanbul: Eyüp Sultan, the tomb of…
Best for Returning visitors
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Full day (about 6 hours) · Istanbul
Private Sinan Mosques Tour: Atik Valide and Zal Mahmud Pasha
A private Sinan mosques tour: the Atik Valide complex of Nurbanu Sultan…
Best for Returning visitors
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Half day (about 4 hours) · Istanbul
Private Eminönü Tour with Lunch at Pandeli: Tiles and Spices
A private Pandeli lunch tour in Eminönü: the Spice Bazaar, the İznik…
Best for First-time visitors · Returning visitors
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Full day (about 7 hours) · Istanbul
Mimar Sinan Private Tour: The Great Mosques of Istanbul’s Master Architect
A private Mimar Sinan tour: the Şehzade Mosque, the Süleymaniye and Sinan's…
Best for Returning visitors
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Full day (about 12 hours) · Edirne, Istanbul
Edirne Day Trip from Istanbul: Sinan’s Masterpiece and the First Ottoman Capital in Europe
A private Edirne day trip from Istanbul: the Selimiye Mosque, Sinan's masterpiece,…
Best for Returning visitors
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5-day journey
Mimar Sinan Tour in 5 Days: Istanbul and the Selimiye in Edirne
A private 5-day Mimar Sinan tour: his apprentice work, his journeyman work…
Best for First-time visitors · Returning visitors
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8-day journey
Turkey Architecture Tour in 8 Days: Sinan, Seljuk Stone and Wooden Mosques
A private 8-day architecture tour of Turkey: Sinan's Istanbul, Odunpazarı, the wooden…
Best for Returning visitors
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6-day journey
The Ottoman Capitals Tour in 6 Days: Bursa, Edirne and Istanbul
A private 6-day Ottoman capitals tour: Bursa, where the empire began, İznik…
Best for Returning visitors
About this topic
Works of Mimar Sinan
The works of Mimar Sinan still shape the skyline of Istanbul four centuries after his death. He served three sultans as chief architect, and his office designed or supervised several hundred buildings across the empire.
Begin with the three mosques that tradition calls the stages of his career. The Şehzade Mosque was his apprentice work, the Süleymaniye his journeyman piece and the Selimiye in Edirne his masterpiece. Then visit the smaller ones. Many people find them even more moving: the tiled Rüstem Pasha Mosque and the Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque.
Sinan also built for water. His Mağlova Aqueduct carried the new water lines of Suleiman. He also tied the Roman Valens Aqueduct into the same system.
Read his life in our portrait of Mimar Sinan, then visit two or three works of Mimar Sinan in one day. The Selimiye is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and most of the others belong to the historic areas of Istanbul.
On the Asian side, high above Üsküdar, his Atik Valide Mosque for the queen mother Nurbanu keeps fine İznik tiles around its mihrab.