Mimar Sinan

Sinan's first imperial commission, built for Suleiman the Magnificent in memory of his eldest son Şehzade Mehmed. The architect later dismissed it as an apprentice work — in fact it established the centralized four-semi-dome plan he would perfect at Selimiye.

Sinan designed this compact mosque for the grand vizier Rüstem Pasha above a row of shops, hiding the prayer hall on a raised platform. It is clad inside and out in the most lavish İznik tiles Sinan ever deployed — flowers bloom on every surface.

One of Sinan's jewels — a small mosque on a sloping site, its mihrab wall studded with Iznik tiles and three authenticated stones from the Kaaba.