Through the Markets and Bazaars - Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City - page 172

an enormous double bath, Tahtakale Hamamı, which also belongs to
the age of Fatih. The hamam was for many years years used as an ice
plant and cold storage warehouse, but recently it has been restored
and converted into a shopping mall. The camekân, which from its
great size must have been very impressive, is almost square in plan,
16.70 by 16.25 metres, covered by a huge dome on a low drum. The
hararet is also large and has a high dome.
RÜSTEM PAŞA CAMİİ
We now find ourselves back on Uzun Çarşı Caddesi, where we turn
left and continue on downhill for a short distance. Just to the right
of the next intersection rises Rüstem Paşa Camii, one of the most
beautiful of the smaller mosques of Sinan. This mosque was built
in 1561 by Rüstem Paşa, twice Grand Vezir under Süleyman the
Magnificent and husband of the Sultan's favourite daughter, the
Princess Mihrimah. The rise of Rüstem Paşa began in the autumn of
1539, when he was engaged to marry Mihrimah. At that time he was
governor of Diyarbakır, where his enemies tried to prevent him from
marrying the princess by spreading the rumour that he had leprosy.
But when the palace doctors examined Rüstem they found that he was
infested with lice; consequently they declared that he was not leprous,
for accepted medical belief was that lice never inhabit a leper. He was
allowed to marry Mihrimah and Süleyman appointed him Second
Vezir. Five years later he was made Grand Vezir, an office that he held
from 1544 to 1553 and again from 1555 to 1561, during which time
he became the wealthiest and most powerful of the Sultan's subjects.
Thus it was that Rüstem came to be called Kehle-i-Ikbal , the Louse of
Fortune, from an old Turkish proverb that says: “When a man has his
luck in place even a louse can bring him good fortune.”
The mosque is built on a high terrace over an interesting complex of
vaulted shops, the rent from which went to maintain the foundation.
Interior flights of steps lead up from the corners of the platform to
a spacious and beautiful courtyard, unique in the city. The mosque
is preceded by a curious double porch: first the usual type of porch
consisting of five domed bays, and then, projecting from this, a deep
and low-slung penthouse roof, its outer edge resting on a row of