This mosque, and the huge complex surrounding it (together forming the külliye) is the best Sinan in town. To see the best Sinan in the country, go to Edirne, and visit the Selimiye. I have had the pleasure of sitting in that one all by myself (in winter that can happen), in comparison the Süleymaniye is a busy tourist trap, but it is so well made that one should accept this.

The Wikipedia mentions some set-backs: "Süleymaniye was ravaged by a fire in 1660 and was restored by Sultan Mehmed IV. Part of the dome collapsed again during the earthquake of 1766. Subsequent repairs damaged what was left of the original decoration of Sinan (recent cleaning has shown that Sinan experimented first with blue, before turning red the dominant color of the dome).

During World War I the courtyard was used as a weapons depot, and when some of the ammunition ignited, the mosque suffered another fire. Not until 1956 was it fully restored again. The construction of the Halic metro bridge in 2013 has irreparably altered the view of the mosque from north."