familiar with its form and structure so its not surprising that it had an influence on much of his work. Of all his buildings,conceptually the Suleymaniye is probably the most similar to the Hagia Sophia with the basic concept of the central domed space made larger with attached semidomed spaces which in turn have smaller spaces attached topped by smaller domes. Because the dome of the Hagia Sophia was considered to be a great feat for the Christians Sinan designed the dome of the Suleymaniye to send the message that not only were Muslims just as capable but, with an even larger and higher dome, that they were superior.More similarities can be drawn with the forms and structures of the two buildings. In addition to the dome and semidomes, the main arches, piers, buttresses, and galleries were adopted by the Suleymaniye. These were all part of the basic structural system in both buildings of a dome on four supports. Sinan also used pendentives as the structural system under the main dome and squinches as a transitional element between semidomes and the rest of the structure. Additionally Sinan used similar wide arches in the Suleymaniye although they were not needed structurally and were probably used for their formal appearance. The piers of the Suleymaniye are also similar with their projections used to support the bracing arches. These are the basic formal and structural similarities between the Hagia Sophia and the Suleymaniye Mosque which make them strikingly unique and intertwined.DIFFERENCESNoting these similarities might incline one to believe that the Suleymaniye was merely a successful imitation of the Hagia Sophia. This assumption would be incorrect and by noting the numerable dissimilarities its apparent that the Suleymaniye stands on its own. There is first and foremost the religious conceptual differences between the two buildings. The Hagia Sophia was originally a church with its arrangement dictated by a Christian traditi...
