Through the Markets and Bazaars - Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City - page 163

was built in the first half of the eighteenth century by Damat Ibrahim
Paşa, Grand Vezir in the reign of Sultan Ahmet III. It is not as grand
as some of the other old hans in this neighbourhood; nonetheless
it adds to the distinctively Ottoman character of the surrounding
streets. We enter the han through an arched gateway halfway down
the street and find ourselves in the cluttered inner courtyard, which is
lined with an arcade of shops and ateliers. If we leave the han by the
portal in the far left-hand corner, we will find ourselves just opposite
one of the gates of the Kapalı Çarşı. We turn right here and after
a few steps we pass through an arched gateway over the street and
enter Mahmut Paşa Yokuşu, one of the principal market streets of
Stamboul.
MAHMUT PAŞA HAMAMI
About 250 metres down Mahmut Paşa Yokuşu, we come to a turning
on the left where we see an imposing domed building. This is a part
of the Mahmut Paşa Hamamı, one of the two oldest baths in the city,
dated by an inscription over the portal to A.H. 871 (A.D. 1476). (The
Gedik Ahmet Paşa Hamamı, described in Chapter 7, may possibly be
a year or so older, but it is not dated.) This was originally part of the
Mahmut Paşa Külliyesi, and, as always in these interdependent pious
foundations, its revenues went to the support of the other institutions
in the complex. Like most of the great hamams, it was originally
double, but the women's section was torn down to make room for the
neighbouring han. We enter through a large central hall (17 metres
square) with a high dome on stalactited pendentives; the impressive
size of the camekân is hardly spoiled by the addition of a modern
wooden balcony. The soğukluk is a truly monumental room covered
by a dome with spiral ribs and a huge semidome in the form of a scallop
shell; on each side are two square cubicles with elaborate vaulting. The
hararet is octagonal with five shallow oblong niches, and in the cross-
axis there are two domed eyvans, each of which leads to two more
private bathing cubicles in the corners. Like all of Mahmut Paşa's
buildings, his hamam is a very handsome and well-built structure. For
a time it fell into disuse and then served as a storage depot, but it has
been restored and now serves as a market hall.