Letter on Suleymaniye Mosque Building Project Paper Example

Your Majesty,

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It is a humbling experience for me to be chosen to lead in this project of building this vast infrastructure. I appreciate the chance as an architecture to build this landmark infrastructure which is not only an essential feature in the empire but also a legacy by which future generations will remember us. The Mosque will even come as a relief to the population as they will be able to worship and get other services from a central location. Therefore, all my years of experience in designing and building structure will be applied here, and I will ensure nothing short of a master class.

This magnificent complex's location within the palace garden on the high hill facing the Golden Horn port will enable observation of trade. New arrivals can, therefore, be seen from the mosque and travelers can hence be noticed. Importantly the mosque will be located at the center being surrounded by other buildings placed strategically on terraces that vary from one building to another. The site is well endowed in compressive strength relative to nearby areas thus suitable for stable foundations.

The mosque, like many others before it, encompasses other facilities such as a public kitchen to distribute food aid to the poor, coffee houses, a Quran school, hospital, special schools, birth house, and a caravan. The mosque itself comprised of an arched courtyard and a praying hall. The courtyard serves as a preparation venue before religious rituals are conducted. The ablution fountain at the center of the courtyard is erected for washing of hands. Those entering the courtyard can use three gates, and upon entering the main praying hall, one will find a prayer niche giving direction on which side Mecca is.

The complex will be built on four pillars weighing about one hundred and twenty tons in total. When finished, the dome in conjunction with the shell of the upper masonry will exert a weight of a 100 tons, a burden that they will be transferring to the base together with piers and two half domes. The four pillars will, therefore, be transferring about 8000 tons each to the base. Between the piers, there will be four primary arches. The mosque uses Byzantine Hagia Sophia as a reference but is more improved in lighting, symmetry, and rationalization than any precedents.

For the central dome of the mosque, the height will be fifty and a half meters and a 27.5 m long diameter. It will stand on pillars and the main arch. The dome rim alone will have a total of 32 windows and support of two smaller half domes on either side. These two half domes, in turn, have two smaller domes supporting them. There will also be other five domes of varying sizes located at different sites.

Furthermore, the courtyard will have domes around, although small in size. I will also include on the mosque four minarets on all the four courtyard corners as an indication you being the fourth sultan in the Ottoman Empire. Southern and eastern minarets with a height of 76m will be built adjacent to the mosques with three balconies. Northern and western minarets though not adjacent to the mosque will have two balconies, but their weight will be 55 m. The total of ten balconies in the minarets will be a symbol of 10 ottoman sultans up to now. The mosques domes are designed and included to conform to the Islamic guidelines.

Use of solid stones will build the walls and minarets of the mosque. Domes, on the other hand, will be made of shell bricks. The choice of materials is essential to ensure this building lasts long and can withstand challenges in case of a disaster. The best stones have therefore been chosen from across the empire. They comprise mainly of limestone, Firestone and Proconnesian marble. These stones were acquired not only from quarries but also from ancient cities. Other precious and rare architectural elements were also derived from these cities and other contemporary buildings in the empire.

The use of iron bars stabilizes the structure. These can be double for inner and outer places to bring stabilization and enhance the structure. A bronze collar will also be applied as a base and transitioning to capital. The entirety of the floor in the playing hall will be carpeted since individuals have to remove their shoes when entering there. Also, this will help in sound absorbance thus reduce echoes. Stones and plaster used in the inside of the hall will also help to reduce echoes.

Like other imperial mosques, the courtyard will be marble-paved as the arches. The marble erection at the center of the court will be used for drinking fountain while the ablution fountains will be along the mosque's eastern and western sides specifically to allow more people access to them. The three entrances are due to a large number of people that will be flocking the mosque to have easy access. The main entrance will have a gold inscription of the date the complex is built and sum up your universal rule encompassing divine and secular right. Quotations on the windows will act as reminders for the duty of all to communal prayer.

The prayer hall of the mosque is a vast space measuring 59 by 58 meters. These will be enough to accommodate all the male members expected to attend prayers here. Decorations on the walls of the prayer hall will reflect austere and pious life. They will be made subtle with some tiles. The calligraphy in the interior comprises of quotes from the Quran, religious orthodoxy and divine forgiveness as chosen by highest religious officials.

Columns supporting the domes will be from Baalbek, Alexandria, and Constantinople to rival great leaders such as King Solomon and Alexander the great and also as a demonstration of the wealth of the empire. The great piers will have round medallions containing names of four prior Caliphs. Also, Quran quotes inscribed in gold will decorate the area. Quranic at the dome's center indicates parallelism between the cosmos supported by the creator and the dome of the mosque supported by piers.

Other calligraphies are also present on both sides of the Mihrab. The two are roundels of glazed white-and-blue tile and have the opening verse of the Quran. The panel above the wood of the Mihrab also has the Quran quote referring to Zachariah and Mary while the smaller ones profess faith. There is also a balcony set aside for the sultan to pray which has private access to the outside.

Other complex structures will also be included as part of the complex. The medical school, for instance, will be available for training of medical personnel for the large hospital in the vicinity. The hospital will also be used for practical lessons. The public Kitchen serves not only the poor but also these students of the school. Some of the structures will be sleeping quarters for the students and the staff. This location of the dormitory was convenient for ease of access to classes and the hospital. Within the complex, there would also be a Mausoleum which would be a burial ground for members of the royal family. This will act to further cement the legacy of the ruler and the Complex will be associated with the same.

Conclusion

Completion of the complex will usher in a new era for ottoman civilization. It will act as a model for others who want to build significant infrastructure because new techniques of structure building will be employed. Over the years, the techniques absorbed will be unified and applied for the completion of this magnificent structure. With the completion of the mosque and the associated structures, more people will settle in this area and lead to more developments. It will usher in artistic and architectural development that even the future leaders will look back at this moment and time with reverence. As a result of this complex, therefore, this area will become a center of Islamic civilization. Thus a new culture will form in the world.

Works cited

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Kessler, Kristel. "Conceptualizing Mosque Tourism: A central feature of Islamic and Religious Tourism." International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage 3.2 (2015): 2.

Mustafa, Faris Ali, and Ahmad Sanusi Hassan. "Mosque layout design: An analytical study of mosque layouts in the early Ottoman period." Frontiers of Architectural Research 2.4 (2013): 445-456.

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"Suleiman The Magnificent". Crystalinks.Com, 2018, http://www.crystalinks.com/suleiman.html. Accessed 25 Nov 2018.

Weisbin, Kendra. "Introduction To Mosque Architecture." Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-islam/beginners-guide-islamic-art/a/introduction-to-mosque-architecture. Accessed 25 Nov 2018.