Hagia Sophia's central dome, allegedly motivated by Christian architects who claimed that Muslims were not capable of matching the construction of that dome. Sinan's biographies praise the dome of the Selimiye Mosque for its size and height, which is approximately the same diameter as the Hagia Sophia's main dome and slightly higher; the first time that this had been achieved in Ottoman architecture. The hemispherical dome has a diameter of . Its exact height is sometimes disputed but is approximately . In the Tezkiratü'l-Bünyan, the biography written by Sa'i Mustafa Çelebi, Sinan is said to declare: "In this mosque...I [have] erected a dome six cubits higher and four cubits wider than the dome of Hagia Sophia." Mihrab, religious furnishings, and decoration The mihrab is set back from the rest of the prayer hall, standing in an apse-like projection with enough depth to allow for window illumination from three sides. This has the effect of making the tile panels of its lower walls sparkle with natural light. The tiles on either side of the mihrab are excellent examples of Iznik tilework. The mihrab itself is made of marble and is a good example of Ottoman stone-carving in this period, with a muqarnas hood and an inscription band. The mihrab decoration culminates above in a curved triangle set between two alems (a type of finial on a flagpole). The minbar, standing next to the mihrab area, is among the finest examples of the stone minbars which by then had become common in Ottoman architecture. The stone surfaces are decorated with arches, pierced geometric motifs, and carved arabesques. The sultan's private balcony for prayers, or hünkâr mahfili, is set in an elevated position in the mosque's eastern corner and is also decorated with excellent Iznik tiles. A müezzin mahfili, a platform for the muezzin, stands in the center of the hall, directly under the main dome. This position, which obscures the view of the mihrab from the mosque entrance, is unusual in Ottoman architecture and was never repeated by Sinan. It may have been placed there to further emphasize the centrality of the dome above. The elevated platform is made of beautifully-painted wood supported by twelve low arches with multifoil forms. Under the platform is a marble fountain for ablutions and drinking. The decoration around the mosque's interior includes marble stonework, painted decoration, and more Iznik tilework. Most of the painted decoration, which