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beatific contemplations which filled my soul. Having afterwards
performed my ablutions and ofered up the morning prayer, I crossed
over from Constantinople to the suburb of Kasım Paşa and consulted
the interpreter of dreams, Ibrahim Efendi, about my vision. From
him I received the comfortable news that I would become a great
traveller, and after making my way through the world, by the
intercession of the Prophet, would close my career by being admitted
to Paradise. I then retired to my humble abode, applied myself to the
study of history, and began a description of my birthplace, Istanbul,
that envy of kings, the celestial haven and stronghold of Macedonia.”
But such beatific visions are denied to the modern traveller, who
must now resume his stroll through Stamboul, heading up the main
highway that leads along the bank of the Golden Horn between the
two bridges.
KANTARCILAR MESCİDİ, KAZANCILAR CAMİİ, AND
SAĞRICILAR CAMİİ
As we walk along the left side of the avenue we pass in turn three little
mosques which are among the very oldest in Istanbul, all of them
built just after the Conquest. The first of these that we come to is
Kantarcılar Mescidi, the mescit, or small mosque, of the Scale-Makers,
named after the guild whose artisans have had their workshops in
this neighbourhood for centuries. This mosque was founded during
Fatih's reign by one Sarı Demirci Mevlana Mehmet Muhittin. It has
since been reconstructed several times and is of little interest except
for its great age.
The second of these ancient mosques which we pass, about 250
metres beyond the first, is called Kazancılar Camii, the mosque of the
Cauldron-Makers, here again named for one of the neighbourhood
guilds. It is also known as Üç
Mihrablı Camii, literally the mosque
with three mihrabs. Founded by a certain Hoca Hayreddin Efendi
in 1475, it was enlarged first by Fatih himself, then by Hayreddin's
daughter-in-law, who added her own house to the mosque, so that
it came to have three mihrabs, hence its name. The main body of
the building, which seems to be original in form though heavily
restored, consists of a square room covered by a dome resting on a
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