I got back from a trip to Istanbul 10 days ago and I spent a stupid amount of time out there thinking "I could build something like that in Bryce".  I totally fell in love with Sinan's architecture and in particular the Sulamanie Mosque which this is (fairly loosely) based on.  This is a work in progress but if I don't post some of it now I'll rush the end result in order to get it up.

I tend to like building models and then work out where I can put the camera afterwards so the POV for this is likely to change a bit before I've finished.  I started with the whole thing in marble and added the ceiling decoration (it'll change before I've finished as I just wanted to try out some ideas), I am about to start playing with some form of decoration in the second tier of domes and could do with putting some windows in them too.  The whole thing (with the exception of the balconies below the domes) has been built out of Bryce primitives.

When the whole thing is finished I dread to think how long a volumetric render of this is going to take but I want to see light streaming through the windows :)

I think this would be a very interesting project. So far it looks good. I have not seen any real photos of the place, but just what you've done, it looks like a good beginning.

I love those ceilings too... they are grand.......  give us some photos.....

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This is a shot that a friend of mine took with a fisheye lens.  The problem is that it's nearly impossible to get photos which really give a sense of scale.

I went looking for some other pictures for this thread and I found the following... www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200605/# which has a fantastic walkthrough on it.  When you get the tour up take the virtual walking tour and choose number 7.

The building is utterly astounding.  Pleased you liked my model so far, it's not the same building but I'm happy with the way it's going.

 Aya Sofia, what pictures!...;) been there, it's...oh...5-6 stories high or so. Great mosaics, great big 'posters' with arabic writing on them. And the Blue mosque is just across the street..;) 
you've got it going there..

I wish I'd said that.. The Staircase Wit

anahl nathrak uth vas betude doth yel dyenvey..;)

Amazing!

Available on Amazon for the Kindle E-Reader

All the Woes of a World by Jonathan Icknield aka The Bryster

And in my final hours - I would cling rather to the tattooed hand of kindness - than the unblemished hand of hate...

Haigh Sophia is actually a bit taller than that.  They've got scaffolding up inside it at the moment, there are 26 flights of steps with ten steps per flight to get to the middle of the dome.  The place is huge.  A mate of mine bought a great book on Sinan which had a complete set of floor plans for most of the buildings he bought :)  I may well need to dig into that when I have some time and I've finished this.  We were only in Istanbul for five nights so I never got to visit half the places I would have liked to go to.

It's beginning to have that high intricate look to it, it'll be interesting to see what it looks like as you progress with it.  Looking good so far.

Measure your mind's height
by the shade it casts.
Robert Browning (Paracelsus)

Fran's Freestuff

http://franontheedge.blogspot.com/

http://www.FranOnTheEdge.com