The slender minaret of the Banya Bashi Mosque soars proudly into the sky of the Bulgarian capital. Built in 1576 by Hadži Mimar Sinan, the architect who designed the great mosque of Edirne (Turkey), it symbolises the first stage (before the synagog and the cathedral) of what Sofia's inhabitants like to call the "crossroads of tolerance". Today, the mosque is still used as a place of worship. Behind the edifice, a vast area laid out as a small public garden offers a good opportunity to take a break on one of the benches.