- Süleyman the Lawgiver
- the sultan who ordered her building at the empire's height
- Sinan
- the architect who designed her with a genius rare in his age
- Istanbul
- her city, standing over the seven hills of Constantinople
- the great dome
- her great dome, whose full span reaches twenty-seven metres
- the four minarets
- her four minarets, rising at her four corners
- the külliye
- her complete complex of buildings and public services
- the soup kitchen
- her kitchen, which fed the poor every day without pause
- the schools
- her seven schools standing within the külliye
- the bath
- her busy bath standing within the complex
- the quiet windows
- her delicate windows, letting light stream into her wide interior
- 1557
- her completion year under Suleiman the great Lawgiver
- balance
- her balance, which Sinan himself admired and praised
