Selimiye Mosque
Mosques of Turkey - Selimiye Mosque / Edirne
The Selimiye Mosque (in Turkish Selimiye Camii) is a mosque located in the city of Edirne, in the neighborhood of Faith. This was one of the least accessible areas of the city with the Kırk Merdiven cliffs on one side and a deep cistern on the other. The mosque was commissioned by Sultan Selim II and was built by architect Sinan between the dates 1568-1574. This grand mosque stands at the center of a kulliya which comprises a medrese, a dar-ul hadis, a timekeeper’s room and an arasta (row of shops). In this mosque Sinan employed an octagonal supporting system that is created through eight pillars incised in a square shell of walls. The four semi domes at the corners of the square behind the arches that spring from the pillars, are intermediary sections between the huge encompassing dome and the walls.
