Through the Markets and Bazaars - Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City - page 166

thing is like an underground palace and must clearly have been the
foundation of something very grand indeed. However, all attempts
to identify this structure with some building mentioned in Byzantine
literature have been inconclusive.
We now retrace our steps back to where our detour began, outside
the Mahmut Paşa Hamamı. There we continue downhill along
Mahmut Paşa Yokuşu to look at some of the old hans which line the
streets of this neighbourhood. There are literally scores of ancient hans
in this district. Evliya Çelebi mentions by name more than 25 that
already existed by the middle of the seventeenth century, and many
others were built during the next 100 years; some go back to the time
of the Conquest and many are built on Byzantine foundations.
KÜRKÇÜ HANI
About 100 metres downhill from the Mahmut Paşa Hamamı we see
an arched gateway on the left side of the street; this is the entrance to
the Kürkçü Hanı, the Han of the Furriers. This, too, is a benefaction
of Mahmut Paşa and is the oldest surviving han in the city.
Unfortunately, part of it is in ruins or has disappeared and the rest
is dilapidated and rather spoiled. Originally it consisted of two large
courtyards. The first, nearly square, is 45 by 40 metres, and had about
45 rooms on each of its two floors; in the centre was a small mosque,
now replaced by an ugly block of modern flats. The second courtyard
to the north was smaller and very irregularly shaped because of the
layout of the adjacent streets. It had about 30 rooms on each floor
and must have been very attractive in its irregularity; unfortunately it
is now almost completely ruined.
BÜYÜK YENİ HAN AND KÜÇÜK YENİ HAN
Leaving the Kürkçü Hanı, we continue down Mahmut Paşa Yokuşu
and turn left at the next street, Çakmakçılar Yokuşu. Just beyond the
first turning on the left, we come to a massive gateway which leads
to another Ottoman han: this is the Büyük Yeni Han, which means
literally the Big New Han. It is called new because it was built in 1764,
just a youngster in this ancient town, and big because it is: the second
largest in the city after the Büyük Valide Han, which we will see