Another Ottoman project built by the architect Sinan, the Rüstem Paşa Mosque (Rüstem Paşa Cami) was financed by Sultan Süleyman I's grand vizier Rüstem Paşa.
The Iznik tile panels here, with their floral and geometric designs, decorate both the mosque's exterior wall and its interior. Because of the mosque's more human scale, it's more possible here to examine their delicate artwork rather than be dazzled by the sheer scale and amount of tile work.
The mosque is set above street level, so it doesn't reveal itself easily to casual passersby. A nondescript staircase from the street, brings you up and out onto the terrace in front of the mosque.
The Süleymaniye Mosque, Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey
