Panorama dalla Moschea di Solimano

The panoramic terrace at the Süleymaniye Mosque sits atop one of Istanbul's seven hills and delivers one of the city's most layered views. The mosque itself was commissioned by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and completed in 1557 to designs by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan — a defining work of Ottoman dome architecture, with cascading lead-covered semidomes, slender minarets, and a walled garden enclosing a royal cemetery. From the terrace the foreground dissolves into a tumble of leaded domes and pale chimney stacks before the Bosphorus opens beyond, with the First Bosphorus Bridge stitching Europe to Asia on the horizon. Entry to the grounds is free; the prayer hall closes to visitors during prayer times.