Native name: Yavuz Sultan Selim Camii
Yavuz Sultan Selim Mosque is located on top of the 5th Hill of
Istanbul
overlooking the Golden Horn . The mosque is one of the noticeable landmarks of the city because of its size and its high location . It was commissioned by Kanuni Sultan Suleyman (1520-66) between 1520 and 1522 in memory of his father Yavuz Sultan Selim who died in 1520 . The architect of the mosque is not certainly known . Some think that the architect is the famous architect of the Ottoman empire Mimar Sinan , however there is no documentary evidence supporting such claim .
The large courtyard has a colonnaded portico with marble and granite columns . The mosque itself is decorated with İznik tiles . It has two minarets with a single gallery each . The main area of worship of the mosque is covered with a single dome which resembles that of Hagia Sophia , as it is much shallower than a full hemisphere . The area is a simple square with 24 . 5 meters on each side . The tile plates over the windows of the inner location are the original ones , similarly the boards over the windows of the last congregation place have survived till today . There are domed passages to the north and south of the main
area that lead to four small domed rooms .
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