’Osmán, Sultán Suleïmán Khán el Ghází, who finished the mosque begun by his father. _Description of the Mosque of Sultán Selím I._ He began it as a monument to the illustrious memory of his father, in the year 927 (A.D. 1521), and finished it in the year 933 (A.D. 1527). It is a lofty mosque, in the interior of Islámból, on the summit of one of the hills which overlook the canal; but it has no fine columns within it like the other mosques. It is only an elevated dome supported by four walls, but such as to raise the admiration of all who are masters in mathematics, and to be pointed at as a proof of the great skill of the old architect Sinán. On examining it, all mathematicians are astonished; for its dome is found, on admeasurement, to be one span wider than that of Ayá Sófiyah. It appears, in truth, to be an azure vault, like the vault of the sky; but is not so high as that of Ayá Sófiyah, since it measures only fifty-eight builder’s cubits in height. The cause of its not having been made more lofty, is the elevation of the hill upon which it stands. On the right side of its precincts (harem) there is a deep cistern, made in the time of the infidels; and on the north side is the ascent called the Forty Stairs, though there are fifty-four steps. The declivity on each side is very steep and precipitous; the architect Sinán, therefore, with a prudent foresight, in order to avoid all risk from earthquakes, gave a very moderate height to the mosque. The platform (mahfil) for the Muëzzins is placed upon marble columns, adjoining to the wall on the right hand; the Minber and Mihráb are of white marble, in a plain style. On the left side of the mosque there is a gallery supported by columns for the use of the Emperor: this was enclosed like a cage, with a gilt grating, by Sultán Ibráhim. Round the cupola there is a gallery where lamps are lighted on the blessed nights. The mosque is ornamented with some thousand trophies suspended around it, but has no other distinction on the inside. Opposite to the windows on the side of the Mihráb, is the sepulchre of Selím Khán, in a delightful garden, where the sweet notes of nightingales are heard. It is a hexagonal building, surmounted by a cupola. This mosque has three gates, of which that looking towards the Kiblah is always open. On the right and left of the mosque there are hostels for travellers; and there are also, on the right and left side, two minárehs, with one gallery each; but they are not so high as other minárehs. The court of the mosque (harem) is paved with white marble, has three gates, and stone benches (soffahs) all round. There is a basin in the centre of the court, which constantly supplies the Muselmán congregation with fresh and running water for their ablutions. Sultán Murád IV. placed a pointed dome over it, supported by eight columns, and there are four cypresses on the different sides of it. Outside of this court is a large enclosure (harem), planted with trees