Sinan is considered the greatest Ottoman architect of the Ottoman Empire’s Architectural heritage. It is generally assumed that Sinan was born in the year 1490. It is also assumed that he spent his youth in the village of Agirnas near Kayseri until conscription (devsirme) to the “masters of carpenters”. At age 22, Sinan is then recruited into the Corps of Ottoman Standing Troops (Janissary). During this military tour he travels widely throughout the empire, as far as Baghdad, Damascus, Persia and Egypt. In his own words he informs us about his observations: