Istanbul Through the Eyes of Mimar Sinan!

Today marks the anniversary of the death of Mimar Sinan, the engineering and design genius known as “Koca Sinan”—the greatest architect of all time—who made his mark on world history through his works.

On the 433rd anniversary of his passing, let’s explore the life and achievements of Mimar Sinan, whose genius, mastery, engineering, and exquisite craftsmanship continue to inspire awe.

Mimar Sinan was born in Kayseri in 1490.

He was brought to Istanbul as a devşirme during the reign of Yavuz Sultan Selim.

A Janissary during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, Sinan earned the sultan’s admiration by building a bridge across the Prut River in just 13 days during the Kara Buğdan campaign, which led to his promotion to chief architect.

Although Mimar Sinan is best known for his prominence as an architect, architecture alone does not fully define him. Sinan also possessed many talents and a wealth of experience as an engineer, a skilled logistician, an urban designer, a planner, an administrator, and more—and the most important evidence of this is, of course, his works.

Mimar Sinan’s body of work includes 82 mosques, 52 small mosques, 55 madrasas, 7 Quran schools, 20 mausoleums, 17 soup kitchens, 3 hospitals, 6 aqueducts, 10 bridges, 20 caravanserais, 36 palaces, 8 cellars, and 48 bathhouses—a total of 364 works.

By advancing the structural system to a very high level through his engineering expertise—both in design and construction—Mimar Sinan brought about a major revolution in Ottoman architectural history by introducing innovative solutions for both continuous and point-load structural elements and architectural details.

Mimar Sinan’s Kırk Çeşme Water Facility, an engineering marvel, is considered a world-class project of Ottoman civilization. With this project, the great master channeled water to Istanbul at a gradient of one in a thousand without using electricity, fuel, or any other energy source. Key components of this facility—the Long Arch, the Broken (Curved) Arch, and especially the Mağlova Arch—constitute a monument to architecture and engineering without parallel in the world…


From masterpieces like the Süleymaniye and Selimiye Mosques down to his smallest complex, such as the Şemsi Pasha Complex, the same seriousness and attention to detail are evident in all of Sinan’s works.

Architect Sinan passed away in Istanbul on April 9, 1588, at the age of 98.

Mimar Sinan’s tomb is located within the Süleymaniye Complex, which is considered his “masterpiece.”

Among Mimar Sinan’s works in Istanbul, the following structures have survived to the present day, neighborhood by neighborhood, and retain their original form:

•At Meydanı İbrahim Pasha Palace (Fatih).

•Atik Valide Nurbanu Sultan Complex (Üsküdar): Mosque, Madrasa, School, Sufi Lodge, Soup Kitchen, Quran School, Caravanserai, Hospital.

•Hürrem Sultan Bathhouse (Hagia Sophia, Fatih).

•Bali Pasha Mosque (Fatih).

•Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha Mausoleum (Beşiktaş).

•Büyükçekmece Complex: Bridge, Caravanserai, Mosque.

•Defterdar Mahmut Çelebi Mosque (Eyüp).

•Evvelbent Paşadere Arch (Kağıthane)

•Gazi İskender Pasha Complex (Beykoz): Mosque, Mausoleum.

•Güzel Ahmet Pasha Mausoleum (Fatih).

•Güzelce (Gözlüce) Arch (Sultangazi).

•Hadım İbrahim Pasha Complex (Fatih): Mosque, Mausoleum.

•Haseki Hürrem Sultan Complex (Fatih): Mosque, Hospital, Madrasa, Elementary School.

•Haseki Hürrem Sultan’s Tomb (Süleymaniye).

•Havz-ı Kebir (Great Pool) (Kağıthane).

•Hüsrev Çelebi Ramazan Efendi Mosque (Fatih).

•Hüsrev Kethüda Darülkurra in Vefa (Fatih).

•Hüsrev Kethüda Bathhouse (Ortaköy).

•Hüsrev Pasha Mausoleum (Fatih).

•Kapıağası (Haramidere) Bridge (Beylikdüzü).

•Kara Ahmet Pasha Complex (Fatih). Madrasa, Mausoleum

•Kılıç Ali Pasha Complex (Beyoğlu). Mosque, Bathhouse, Fountain,
Mausoleum•Kovuk (Eğri) Arch (Sultangazi)

•Mağlova Arch (Sultangazi)

•Mehmet Ağa Complex (Fatih). Mosque, Mausoleum

•Mesih Mehmet Pasha Complex (Fatih): Mosque, Tomb.

•Mihrimah Sultan Complex (Edirnekapı): Mosque, Madrasa,
Bathhouse•Mihrimah Sultan Complex (Üsküdar): Mosque, Madrasa, Elementary School

•Mimar Sinan Ağa / Mimar Sinan Mosque (Fatih).

•Molla Çelebi (Fındıklı) Mosque (Beyoğlu).

•Palace Kitchens (Topkapı Palace, Fatih).

•Nişancı Mehmet Paşa Complex (Fatih): Mosque, Mausoleum.

•Pertev Pasha Mausoleum (Eyüp).

•Piyale Pasha Complex (Beyoğlu).

•Rüstem Pasha Mosque (Fatih).

•Rüstem Pasha Caravanserai (Beyoğlu—Thursday Market).

•Rüstem Pasha Madrasa (Fatih).

•Rüstem Pasha Mausoleum (Fatih).

•Semiz Ali Pasha Madrasa (Fatih).

•Sinan Pasha Complex (Beşiktaş): Mosque, Madrasa.

•Siyavuş Pasha’s Sons’ Mausoleum (Eyüp).

•Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque, Azapkapı (Beyoğlu).

•Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Complex (Eyüp): Mausoleum, Madrasa, Dar al-Qurra

•Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Complex (Kadırga, Fatih): Mosque, Madrasa, Tekke

•Sultan Murat Pavilion (Topkapı Palace, Fatih).

•Sultan Selim I Madrasa (Fatih).

•Sultan Selim II’s Mausoleum (Fatih).

•Süleymaniye Complex (Süleymaniye, Fatih): Mausoleum of Sultan Süleyman the Lawgiver, (Mausoleum of Hürrem Sultan) First Madrasa, Second Madrasa, Third Madrasa, Fourth Madrasa, Dar al-Hadith, Dar al-Qurra, Dar al-Shifa, Dar al-Tibb, Imaret, Elementary School, Caravanserai, Bathhouse.

• Tomb of Şah Huban Hatun (Fatih).

•Prince Mehmet Complex (Fatih): Mosque, Imaret, Caravanserai, Madrasa, Elementary School, Tabhane, Mausoleum.
•Mausoleum of the Princes (Fatih).

•Şemsi Ahmet Paşa Complex (Üsküdar): Mosque, Mausoleum, Madrasa.

•Tophane (Kurşunlu) Armory (Beyoğlu).

•Uzun Kemer (Eyüp).

•Valide Sultan Bathhouse (Üsküdar).

•Zal Mahmut Pasha Complex (Eyüp): Mosque, Mausoleum, Madrasa (I), Madrasa (II).