The two minarets located at the two sides of the facade have two balconies each, and the two other two, which are at the other end of the square on each side öf the porch, have three balconies each. The total number, for the four minarets, yields ten balconies, all with corbelling in stalactites. Three beautiful doors whose open- ings are formed of flattened curues are each surmounted by an ogee arch and give access through the frontage and the two other sides of the courtyard. A cloister of twenty four arcades runs around and is supported by an equal number of columns. The pair closest to the door in the facade are of porphyry; of the remainder, twelve columns of pink granite alternate with ten of white marble. All are of the crystallized order. Their capitals are of white marble, and the edges of their stalactites heavily gilded.

A very simple fountain, in the form of a parallelogram with four vertical faces and covered by a zinc roof, occupies the center of the square. Its decoration, sober and gracious, consists of a metal grill painted in emerald green and an openwork lattice of geometrical rosettes, above which runs a frieze of white marble carued with broad leaves whose hearts are slightly tinted aqua- marine.The court is entirely paved with enormous flagstones of white marble, except for the passage which gives access, through the porch, inside the mosque. There, in front of.the main door, is placed a round monolithic flagstone of the richest porphyry with a diameter of approximately two meters. If we should believe a popular legend associated with this flagstone, it marks a tragic event and played a bloody role during the construction of the Süleymaniye courtyard. Sultan Süleyman had himself chosen and indicated a sample of the most precious porphyry with which to enrich, the place before the mihrab inside mosque which indi cates the direction of Mecca towards which the faithful perform ~

their prostrations. He spelled out the particulars of size and finish to a skilful workman who knew the destination of the stone. This craftsman, who was a Christian, thought he would do a pious deed by carving on the flagstone a cross, perhaps hoping that merely by the sight of this emblem, all the Muslims would convert spontaneously. He had undoubtedly not reflected, or perhaps he was unaware, that the Islamic religion absolutely proscribes places reserved for the worship of any image. The flagstone of porphyry became, by virtue of the fact that a cross had even been carved on it, unsuitable with the ornamentation of mosque.

Sultan Süleyman, indignant at seeing all his care thus rendered useless, was provoked, they say, into a violent rage. He condemned the workman to death, and ordered that it be carried out then and there, in front of his eyes. T'hey thus brought into the courtyard a throne, on which the sovereign sat down to preside over the execu- tion. The sculptor was decapitated in his presence and to preserue at the same time the memory of this disobedience and its terrible punishment, they carued deeply into the block of the marble where the seat of the sultan had sat and where the head of the victim had fallen, two signs which vaguely represent the outline of a t.hrone and that of a head; they are still to be seen there today. As for the porphyry, flagstone, so that it would not be completely wasted, they turned it over so that the cross was on the bottom and then installed it in front of the principal entrance to the nave with the result that, unbeknownst to themselves, all who pass over it are treading on the cross. It is thus fulfills a function quite contrary to the proselytical intentions of the executed sculptor. Nothing prevents us from believ- ing in this legend, which bears all the attributes characteristic of the truth, for it is known that leniency did not number among the favorite virtues of Sultan Süleyman the Lawgiver. Moreover, at that time, tolerance and mercy were practiced no better in the west than they were in the East. Francis I, the restorer of arts and the patron of literature, also had the philosopher and scholar Etienne Dolet publicly burned alive; Charles V formally took part in the "acts of faith" of the Spanish Inquisition.
The Islamic religion, at least, has never had an institution sim ilar to the Holy Office. Be that as it may, afterpassing over the leg- endary porphyry flagstone, we enter the nave, where we first of all are overcome by our admiration of the lofty and vast cupola of the dome, painted in a wash of clear tones of blue, white, and gold. These three colors form the basis of the entire decorative harmony of the building: its paintings, sculptures, precious marbles, tiles, etc, both inside and out. Everywhere, the white and blue domi- nate-the white especially. A few pink granite and porphyry columns or insets, a few lines the color of blood, freshen the light without interrupting this harmony; the gildings of the stalactites are everywhere applied with a solemnity that does not disturb the tranquility. The colossal vault is supported by four gigantic upright piers. Around the sides are columns that support the lat- eral galleries and the first landing, which contains the loges for the ladies and extends in a square around the nave. Three circular galleries gird the central rotunda. During the nights of Ramazan and on other holy days, splendid illuminations engulf the balustrades which circumscribe them, and highlight all the elegant details of the stars, flowers, foliage, and scrollwork in flame. The first of these gallerie~..is reached by two staircases that are located conveniently close tö the entrance. The two uppergal- leries, the highest of which is at the same level as the great central cupola, is reached by wooden ladders placed on the roof outside the dome. In this last gallery, there is a curious acoustical effect: sounds made anywhere in the interior are concentrated here and even softly-spoken words uttered in the nave or the aisles may be distinctly heard here.

Another curiosity worthy of remark, and which could be pro- posed as an example to architects, is the following one: tunnels dug in the ground and faced with solid masonry, lead from the interior of the mosque to external tanks that are used for the dis- tribution of water to all the dependencies of the Süleymaniye. The famous architect of this mosque, Master Sinan, combined this sup- ply so as to take advantage of it in order to maintain inside the nave a mild and uniform temperature. By means of wooden trap doors that are located all over the central part of the floor of the nave, the air contained in these underground tunnels is fed into the mosque, where, as a result, the temperature is always warm in winter and cool in summer. All the inscriptions that decorate the Süleymaniye were executed by the famous calligrapher Hasan Ç'elebi, who is buried beside his master in Sütlüce by the Sweet T~aters of Europe. Among the outstanding calligraphic ornamen- tation one should particularly mention the large rosettes of glazed tiles adorned with white letters on a royal blue ground and framed by borders of foliage executed in turquoise blue which decorate the two sides of the mihrab. Like thepulpitplaced to its left, the mihrab is made of white marble, cazved in stalactites that are gilded with gold. ?The marble plates composing the pulpit number only four.~ the gate and base are formed of single slabs and measure eight meters, one in its length and the other in its height. 2'hese are also the measurements of the niche in which the mihrab is set. The imperial loge, situated at the right, is also of white. It is supported by porphyry columns with capitals in the crystallized order that are fashioned of gilded white marble. There are two richly-deco- rated fountains that are intended for ablutions. The door of this loge is, like all the woodwork of the building, engulfed in carved geometric rosettes. A kürsü (pulpit) abutting the pillar closer to the imperial loge is also worthy of mentioning for the remarkable excecution of work of this last kind, in which walnut has been finely cut with open-work and carved with boldness and delica- cy. At the other end of the nave, on the pillar on the opposite side, the balcony of the muezzin is set. Simpler, but almost as beauti- ful as the imperial loge, it is also of the crystallized order. Behind the muezzin's balcony along the low sides, is located~the library, separated from the nave by a superb screen of brass worked in rococo ornamentation. It was repaired during the reign of Sultan Mahmud I by his grand vizier, Mustafa Pasha. More recently, this screen was renovated by Ahmed Vefik Efendi.

Historical sources indicate that in Byzantine times this district was also a holy site where people came to visit the grave of a saint and to pray for rain during times of drought.

The sultans succeeding Mehmet the Conqueror completed their coronation and sword-bearing ceremonies with a visit to the Eyup Sultan Mausoleum.

The vicinity of the mosque and the neighboring hills are occupied by cemeteries. The famous Pierre Loti Cafe is also in this district. The well-known poet and author Loti was enraptured by Istanbul and he came here often to watch the beauties of the Golden Horn of those days. The view from this small cafe and the terrace, particularly during full moon, leaves long-lasting impressions on the visitors.