Around the Mosque of the Conqueror - Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City - page 255

of the two mantles of the Prophet which are among his chief relics in
Istanbul. The other is in its own treasury in the Saray.) The mosque
is in the purest Empire style and just misses being a great success, as
do most buildings in that style; all the same it is very entertaining.
A monumental gateway leads to a spacious paved courtyard; the two
tall minarets are extremely slender and have balconies in the form
of Corinthian capitals. The façade is a little forbidding, more like
a palace than a mosque, but the interior is very pleasant; it is in the
form of an octagon with an outside gallery. The walls and dome, of a
greenish brown, are covered with plaster mouldings of garlands and
vines in buf, done with a certain bravura but also with elegance.
The mihrab, mimber and kürsü, elaborately carved, are of a deep
purple conglomerate marble flecked with grey, green, blue, black and
yellow, and highly polished. Part of the decoration consists of elegant
inscriptions by the famous calligrapher Mustafa Izzet Efendi, others
by Sultan Abdül Mecit, who was himself an able calligrapher. This
is a building which should not be missed by anyone who delights in
the follies and oddities of architecture as long as they have a certain
verve and charm.
HÜRREM ÇAVUŞ CAMİİ
Hirka-i Şerif Camii is built on a high terrace, partly artificial; to the
south a long staircase leads down to a lower monumental gateway
opening from the street below, Keçeciler Caddesi, the Avenue of the
Goat Herder. If we turn right (west) and follow this street, we come
after 500 metres or so to a little mosque on the left which is of no
interest save that its architect was Sinan. It was built in 1560, as an
inscription shows, by a certain Hürrem who was a çavuş (messenger)
in the Divan. It is of the rectangular type with wooden roof and
porch; restorations are recorded in 1844 and 1901. Perhaps because
of these, it has lost any charm it may once have had.
Just across the lane from the garden of the mosque there is a
pleasant teahouse named after Koca Mimar Sinan, the architect. One
might feel inclined to rest here for awhile and have a glass or two of
tea before strolling back to the main avenue.