Mosque of Sultan Suleyman I: Outer court.

Description

Featured in the 1836 collaborative work of Thomas Allom and Robert Walsh, this steel engraving depicts the Süleymaniye Mosque, the pinnacle of Classical Ottoman architecture built by Mimar Sinan, from its outer courtyard. While the composition centers on the mosque's magnificent cascading domes, elegant minarets, and monumental cypress trees integrated with the architecture, it illustrates civilians gathered in the courtyard, resting on carpets, and conversing in the foreground. The artwork objectively documents that monumental religious structures in the Ottoman capital were not merely places of worship, but vibrant, organic, and inclusive public spaces where daily life, socialization, and civil interaction flowed.