Mimar Sinan on the Turkish 10,000 lira banknote

The Turkish 10,000 lira banknote bears the portrait of Mimar (Hovsep) Sinan, an ethnic Armenian and one of the most outstanding architects of the Ottoman Empire. According to the source, he was born in the Armenian village of Aghirnas near Caesarea into a Christian family and was named Hovsep at birth. Noticing his talent, the Turkish authorities forcibly converted him to Islam and gave him a Muslim name, and he became court architect to the Ottoman sultans. He died on 17 July 1588 in Constantinople.

Sinan built more than 200 mosques, including the largest mosques of Constantinople, as well as more than 100 aqueducts, bridges, palaces and mausoleums — over 300 structures in all. His work was strongly influenced by the church of Hagia Sophia, whose dome had been restored in the 10th century by the Armenian architect Trdat.

The banknote shows Sinan’s portrait with a turban and beard, a mosque with four minarets beside it, and the inscription “Mimar Sinan 1490–1588”.