Along the Golden Horn - Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City - page 306

and the bottom arm of the cross. The hararet itself is very splendid.
The central dome has a deep cornice of elaborately-carved stalactites.
Each of the three remaining cross-arms is covered with a vault of
utterly diferent structure, the prettiest being perhaps that on the
right which has a semidome in the form of a deeply ribbed shell. The
two corner cubicles at the back have domes supported on a cornice of
juxtaposed triangles, while the third cubicle has a very beautiful opus
sectile pavement in a variety of brilliant coloured marbles.
SİNAN PAŞA MESCİDİ
After leaving the hamam we turn right and walk west along Küçük
Mustafa Paşa Sokağı for about 100 metres until we come to an
intersection with streets winding of in several directions. If we take
the street that veers of at about 45° to the right, we soon come to
the fragmentary ruins of a small Byzantine church partly concealed
by trees and houses. Only a portion of the apse survives, but this
is interesting as showing an elaborate decoration in brickwork of
meander and zigzag designs. Attempts to identify the building with
several churches known to have been in the area lack any serious
evidence; it is known locally as Sinan Paşa Mescidi. The church would
appear to date from the thirteenth or fourteenth century.
HAVUZLU HAMAM
Once past the church we come quickly to Yeni Aya Kapı, which leads out
to the main road along the Golden Horn. This portal is not one of the
original gateways in the Byzantine sea-walls, but was constructed in 1582
by Sinan. The local residents had petitioned the government to open a
gate there so that they could more easily make their way to the new bath
which Sinan had constructed outside the walls at that point. This bath,
the Havuzlu Hamam, or Bath with a Pool, was built by Sinan in 1582
for the Valide Sultan Nurbanu, mother of Murat III. Unfortunately
the hamam is now disafected and in a state of advanced decay.
THE PETRİON
About 100 metres beyond Yeni Aya Kapı, we come to a point where
a second road, Sadrazam Ali Paşa Caddesi, branches of to the left at