Selimiye Mosque, mosque in Edirne, Turkey
Selimiye Mosque is a 16th-century house of worship in Edirne, Turkey, and a World Heritage Site. The central dome rests on eight massive pillars and is flanked by four slender minarets.
Architect Mimar Sinan designed the building for the sultan and completed it after seven years of construction in 1575. He considered this work the crowning achievement of his long career when he was over 80 years old.
The building takes its name from Sultan Selim II, who commissioned it, and the complex continues to serve as an active mosque for daily community prayers. The spacious courtyard with its arcades creates a transition between the city and the prayer hall.
Visitors must remove shoes and women should wear a headscarf before entering the prayer hall. Main prayer times should be avoided if you want to view the interior spaces quietly.
Under one marble leg of the muezzin's platform, look for a small inverted tulip carving. According to legend, the land was a tulip garden whose owner sold it only on condition that a tulip appear in the mosque; Sinan carved it upside down to mark the owner's stubbornness.
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