Mimar Sinan

You Name It; He Built It

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    Mimar Sinan was a brilliant architect who put his ideas to good use. During his career Sinan built hundreds of buildings including mosques, palaces, harems, chapels, tombs, schools, almshouses, madrassahs, caravan serais, granaries, fountains, aqueducts and hospitals. Of this diverse group of works, his mosques have been most influential. Many people still go to these mosques, whether they are tourists, photographers, historians, or are simply there to pray. Another amazing feat of Mimar Sinan's mosques is their rate of preservation. Most of the mosques in Turkey are hundreds of years old, yet they remain beautiful and still possess most of their original structures, doors, tile, and artwork. Although no one knows for sure, Mimar Sinan's number of estimated total works is 360 with 84 mosques, 51 mescits, 57 medreses, 7 Islamic schools, 22 tombs, 3 hospitals, 7 aquaducts and arches, 48 inns, 35 palaces, and so on.Sinan, who held the position of chief architect of the palace, which meant being the top manager of construction works of the Ottoman Empire, for nearly 50 years, worked with a large team of assistants consisting of architects and master builders.


The Great Architect Lives On

Mimar Sinan died in 1588, but his spirit lives on in all of his works, his stories are told on the lips of Turkish teachers, and he taken as a role model for many young architects. He was immensely talented, and evolved turkish architecture by centuries, all in one lifetime. His influence is felt on all Tukish streets, as you are passing a great mosque, or driving across a magnificent bridge.