on. The Suleymaniye Mosque is a place of worship for Muslims and its arrangement and forms are dictated by the Islamic religion. Some of the forms of the Suleymaniye are as mentioned found on the Hagia Sophia however there are certain basic elements in the mosque which would never be found in any church. The Suleymaniye Mosque contained such elements as the short and tall minarets, the courtyard with the central ritual fountain, the kibla wall, and the mihrab and minbar. Some of the shared formal elements are imbued with Islamic symbolism which demonstrate the conceptual differences between the two buildings even further. For example, the four massive granite columns are considered to symbolize the four caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali who are the four pillars of Sunni theology. And the dome and four minarets represent the prophet and the four caliphs. Other differences can be found in the details like the Islamic tile decoration and stained glass windows on the kibla wall which had inscribed on them the attributes of God and phrases from the Light Verse. This calligraphy decoration, in addition to the other elements, is unique to Islamic architecture and makes the Suleymaniye mosque distinct from the Hagia Sophia. One other important distinction between the Hagia Sophia and the Suleymaniye mosque is that of experience. The contrasting experience of the two sites are based mainly on the disparities between the designers' conceptual intentions. The Hagia Sophia is known for its mystical and mysterious quality. The designers achieved this formally particularly with the use of lighting by having shafts of light placed rhythmically at different heights. This was not Sinan1s intention in designing the Suleymaniye Complex. The description of the entry into the complex found in "Sinan: An Interpretation" by Hans G. Egli reflects clarity rather than mystery: "Twenty steps through the dark passage, the well-lit expanse of the mosque unfo...
