Although he is widely-known for Selimiye Mosque, which he built at the age of 87 and labeled his masterpiece, he built 365 structures in total including 92 large mosques, 52 small mosques, 55 madrasahs, seven darülkurras (a section of madrasah where students study Tajwid), 20 tombs, 17 poor houses, three hospitals, six waterways, 10 bridges, 20 inns, 36 palaces, eight dungeons and 48 public baths.
The two Mihrimah Sultan Mosques in Istanbul were built by commission of the beloved daughter of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent and the only sister to his five sons from his wife Hürrem Sultan. Mihrimah Sultan commissioned her father's chief architect Sinan to build them at the two entrances of Istanbul; one across the Üsküdar pier and the other in Edirnekapı, at the western wall of the old city, on the highest of Istanbul's seven hills.
Historical sources say that Sinan was in love with Mihrimah Sultan, but his request for marriage was rejected by her father. However, the masterpieces he built for Mihrimah Sultan are believed to be a reflection of the great architect's undying love for her.
The mosques in Üsküdar and Edirnekapı were built based on very precise calculations of sunrise and sunset. On March 21, Mihrimah Sultan's alleged birthday, while the crimson red sun sets behind the single minaret of the mosque in Edirnekapı, the moon simultaneously appears between the two minarets of the mosque in Üsküdar: Mihr ü Mah, the sun and moon.
Sinan planned the 25-acre Süleymaniye complex overlooking the Bosporus for almost 10 years, including a large mosque, four madrassas, a hospice, hospital, public baths, library and the Sultans' tomb. Süleymaniye Mosque's dome and slender minerets still stand out as a striking silhouette in modern Istanbul's skyline.
Located in Visegrad, the historical Mehmed Pasha Sokolovic Bridge was commissioned in 1577 by the Bosnian-origin Ottoman Grand Vizier of that name, for chief architect Sinan, whose works reflected the magnificence of the Ottomans throughout Anatolia and the Balkans.
