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Suleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul
Photograph by James L. Stanfield
Known to Europeans as the Magnificent and to his subjects as the Lawgiver, Süleyman I was both a brilliant military strategist and an acclaimed legislator. The sultan shook the world of the 16th century as he raised the Ottoman Empire to the height of its glory from his seat in Istanbul.
Monument to a mighty ruler, Istanbul's many-domed Süleymaniye complex looks over the Golden Horn, Bosporus, and Sea of Marmara to Asia. Built in the 1550s by court architect Sinan, the mosque was surrounded by colleges, a hospital, a soup kitchen, baths, and the tombs of Süleyman and his wife, Roxelana. Istanbul—then known as Constantinople—became the seat of Ottoman power in 1453, when Süleyman's great-grandfather Mehmed II seized the Byzantine capital.
—From "The World of Süleyman the Magnificent," November 1987, National Geographic magazine
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Mevlevi Order Dancers
Photograph by James L. Stanfield
Whirling in ecstasy, dervishes of the Mevlevi Order in Istanbul perform a ritual dance each December to commemorate the death in 1273 of their founder, Celaleddin Rumi. Pivoting on one foot as they circle the room—right hand facing heaven, left hand facing earth—the dancers symbolize spinning planets revolving about God. A mystic poet, Celaleddin was admired by sultans for his humanitarian teachings; Süleyman restored his shrine in Konya, Turkey.
—From "The World of Süleyman the Magnificent," November 1987, National Geographic magazine
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Selimiye Mosque, Edirne
Photograph by James L. Stanfield
Soaring toward the heavens, the vast Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, Turkey, represents the pinnacle of [court architect] Sinan's achievement. Light flooding through curtain walls illuminates geometric designs, arabesques, and phrases from the Koran. The mosque was built by Sinan in the 1570s for Selim II, Süleyman's son and successor. Born in a Christian village in Anatolia, Sinan rose through the devsirme system, whereby Ottomans brought promising Christian youths to the court in Istanbul. They were educated, converted to Islam, and trained as Janissaries—elite infantry—or as administrators.
—From "The World of Süleyman the Magnificent," November 1987, National Geographic magazine
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Castle of Bodrum, Istanbul
Photograph by James L. Stanfield
Thorns in his side, the valiant Knights of St. John, occupying the castle of Bodrum on Turkey's Aegean coast, interfered with Süleyman's control of crucial trade routes and lines of communication. In 1522 he routed them from their stronghold on nearby Rhodes, but his chivalry in allowing them to leave unharmed backfired on him 43 years later.
—From "The World of Süleyman the Magnificent," November 1987, National Geographic magazine
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Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Photograph by James L. Stanfield
A crescent in stone, the humpbacked bridge at Mostar spans the Neretva River in Yugoslavia's Bosnia-Herzegovina Republic. The bridge was built in 1566 on Süleyman's orders to replace a nearby chain bridge deemed unsafe by his subjects. Being part of the empire brought its benefits: In this area alone, the Ottomans constructed 42 bridges, 18 caravansaries, 264 inns and hostels, and 10 covered markets.
—From "The World of Süleyman the Magnificent," November 1987, National Geographic magazine
