The Fifth and Sixth Hills - Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City - page 260

as A.H. 940 (A.D. 1532-3). The mosque is of no interest except for
its name.
Opposite the mosque there is a ruined medrese, founded in 1575
by a certain Halil Efendi. In the centre of the square is an old çeşme,
the beautifully written inscription on which indicates that it was
founded by one Mustafa Ağa in 1681. We have lingered over these
oddments because the district is picturesque.
ZİNCİRLİ KUYU CAMİİ
Continuing on in the same direction as before, we take the next
turning on the left and find a little mosque called Zincirli Kuyu Camii.
This was built around 1500 by Atik Ali Paşa, whose larger and better
known mosque is next to Constantine's Column. Zincirli Kuyu is a
small rectangular building of brick and stone construction covered
by six equal domes in two rows of three supported by two massive
rectangular pillars; its original porch of three bays had disappeared
but has been poorly reconstructed. The mosque is interesting as being
a tiny example of the Ulu Cami type of mosque borrowed from
Selçuk architecture and fairly common in the first or Bursa period
of Ottoman architecture. The type consists of a square or rectangular
space covered by a multiplicity of equal domes supported by pillars
or columns; it can be very large and impressive, as in the Ulu Cami
of Bursa with its 20 domes. On the small scale of Zincirli Kuyu it is
rather heavy and oppressive.
Opposite Zincirli Kuyu is a small baroque türbe dated A.H. 1241
(A.D. 1825). Here is buried the famous calligrapher Hattat Rakkım,
who designed the beautiful inscription on the türbe and sebil of
Nakşidil Valide Sultan. The interior of the türbe is decorated with
photographs of his work.
MEDRESE OF SEMİZ ALİ PAŞA
Beyond the türbe in the main street is an attractive medrese of
the classical period, which has been restored and converted into a
children's clinic. This medrese, also called Zincirli Kuyu, was founded
by another Ali Paşa who was Grand Vezir in the reign of Süleyman the
Magnificent. Because of his great girth he was called Semiz Ali, that is