Selimiye Mosque, Edirne, Turkey:
While most visitors to Turkey focus on the mosques and palaces of
Istanbul to gain a greater understanding of Ottoman architecture, some
of the greatest masterpieces of the time period are located outside of
the city.
Sinan,
one of the most famous Ottoman architects, designed the Suleymaniye
Mosque, the largest mosque in Istanbul and one of the most well-known
sites in the city, but it was not this building that he considered his
masterpiece. In his opinion, the mosque in Edirne, the former Ottoman
capital located on the Greek and Bulgarian borders along Turkey's
European side, is his greatest achievement.
The
building is more of a social complex encompassing madrasas (Islamic
schools) as well as shops and is considered to be the most unified
expression of the Ottoman kulliye. One of the unique features of the
Selimiye Mosque is that the mihrab, the niche in a mosque that indicates
the direction of Mecca, is visible from any point inside the mosque
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