Selimiye Mosque Complex in Edirne (UNESCO)

Commissioned by Sultan Selim II and completed in 1575 in Edirne (the second capital of the Ottoman Empire), the Selimiye Mosque (Selimiye Camii) is universally acclaimed by architectural historians as the supreme triumph of Islamic architecture. Master architect Mimar Sinan, who was ninety years old at its completion, famously declared the mosque his ultimate 'masterwork' (ustalık eseri). The genius of Selimiye lies in its unified spatial interior: Sinan designed an immense 31.3-meter-diameter dome resting upon an octagonal ring of eight monumental columns, eliminating all interior dividing pillars and allowing the entire prayer hall to be perceived in a single glance. Four fluted minarets soar to an astonishing height of 83 meters at the building's four corners. The interior features the finest Iznik ceramic tile revetments ever produced, hand-painted floral domes, and a monumental carved marble minbar of breathtaking geometric precision.