Reflection of Love in Art

Sultan Suleiman named his daughter, who was born in Topkapi Palace in 1522, the name Mihrimah, which means Sun and Moon in Persian.

Years pass and Sultan Suleiman's daughter Mihrimah Sultan turns 17 years old. He has two suitors for marriage.

One of them is the Diyarbakir Governor Rüstem Pasha.

The other is the Ottoman Chief Architect, Mimar Sinan.

Mihrimah Sultan is married to Diyarbakır Governor Rüstem Pasha by her father Süleyman, with the initiatives of her mother Hürrem Sultan.

One day, after many years, Mihrimah Sultan invites Mimar Sinan to her presence.

She asks him to build a mosque for himself in Istanbul. He answers the question “Where would you like it done?” to “you choose your place”.

Thereupon, he decided to build the Mimar Sinan Mosque in Istanbul / Üsküdar. He starts the construction of the Mosque in 1540 and completes the Mosque in 1548.

14 years after the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque in Üsküdar was completed, Mihrimah Sultan summoned Mimar Sinan once again in 1562. He asks him to build another mosque in his name in Istanbul. He asks him to choose his place in the second mosque as he did in the first mosque.

Mimar Sinan chooses the highest hill of Istanbul for the second mosque he will build for Mihrimah Sultan. The Second Mosque was built under the Edirne Gate walls and was completed in 1570.

Architect Sinan is also a mathematical genius and it is possible to see the traces of this genius in his works.

Architect Sinan embodied his love for Mihrimah Sultan in these two works. He could not reunite with Mihrimah Sultan, but he reflected his love for her to his works with his art.

Mimar Sinan, who is a mathematical genius, has hidden a secret in these two works. This secret has been understood after many years.

As I mentioned above, the name Mihrimah means Sun and Moon in Persian.

As the sun sets over the Mihrimah Sultan Edirne Gate Mosque on March 21, the moon rises from the Mihrimah Sultan mosque in Üsküdar on the same date and time.

March 21 is Mihrimah Sultan's birthday.

Today, these two structures are still in the same strength and standing. The natural event, which is kept secret and tells the love of Mimar Sinan for Mihrimah Sultan, takes place in limited times of the year.

According to some historians, there was no love between the two, and Mimar Sinan Mihrimah crowned the meaning of "Sun and Moon", which is the Persian equivalent of the name, in the mosques he built.

The image source used is google.