The design of Sultan Ahmet Mosque combines some
Byzantine
elements of the neighboring Hagia Sophia together with Traditional Islamic Architecture . It is considered to be the last great mosque of the classical Ottoman architecture . The architect has used large quantities of stone and marble materials for the construction . The layout of the mosque is irregular because of the existing constraints of the site . The design plan is based on that of the Ṣehzade Mosque (1543-1548) , which is the first major large-scale work of Sinan , with the same square-based plan and a spacious forecourt . The façade of the spacious forecourt resembles the façade of the Süleymaniye Mosque , but with the addition of turrets on the corner domes . The court has about the same size of the mosque itself and is surrounded by a vaulted arcade . There are ablution facilities on its both sides . In the middle of the inner courtyard , there is a hexagonal marble fountain with six columns .
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