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Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey, 1986

Built in the 1550s, the Süleymaniye Mosque was designed by court architect Sinan in honor of the sultan of sultans, Süleyman I who raised the Ottoman Empire to the height of its glory in the 16th century.

(Text adapted from, and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The World of Suleyman the Magnificent," November 1987, National Geographic magazine)

Photograph by James L. Stanfield