Şehzade Mosque (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality)

 place with historical importance, mosque, interesting place

The mosque is entered through a marble-paved colonnaded forecourt with an area equal to that of the mosque itself. The courtyard is bordered by a portico with five domed bays on each side, with arches in alternating pink and white marble. At the center is an ablution fountain (şadırvan), which was a later donation from Sultan Murat IV. The twin minarets have two galleries and elaborate geometric sculpture in low bas-relief and occasional terracotta inlays. It is the only non-sultanic mosque designed by Sinan with a pair of minarets with two galleries.

The mosque itself has a square plan, covered by a central dome, flanked by four half-domes. The dome is supported by four piers, and has a diameter of 19 metres (62 ft) and a height of 37 metres (121 ft). It was in this building that Sinan first adopted the technique of placing colonnaded galleries along the entire length of the north and south facades in order to conceal the buttresses.