Along the Golden Horn - Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City - page 315

gate no longer exists, there is no mistaking its former location, for all
the local streets converge on it.) After a few twists and turns through
the tortuous streets, we come to the rather handsome church of Surp
Reşdagabet (Holy Archangels), which has been in the possession of
the Armenian community since 1629. It appears to have taken the
place of a church of the thirteenth or fourteenth century dedicated
to the Taxiarch Saints, that is, the Archangels Michael and Gabriel
as chiefs (taxiarchoi) of the celestial militia. The present church dates
from a complete rebuilding in 1835.
FERRUH KETHÜDA CAMİİ
To the right of Balat Kapısı and on the same street as the church we
come to a small mosque which is a minor work of the great Sinan.
A long and handsomely written inscription in Arabic over the fine
entrance portal of red conglomerate marble informs those who can
read it that the mosque was built in A.H. 970 (A.D. 1562-3) by
Ferruh Ağa, Kethüda (Steward) of the Grand Vezir Semiz Ali Paşa.
The building is of the simple rectangular type; it most probably once
had a wooden ceiling with a little dome, but this has been replaced
in a recent restoration by a flat concrete ceiling. The building is very
long and shallow, with a long and shallow apse for the mihrab, which
is adorned with tiles of the Tekfur Saray period. A wooden balcony
runs along the west wall, but this is clearly not like the original, for
it obstructs the windows in an awkward way. A deep porch precedes
the mosque; it must have been rather impressive, supported, as it
would appear, on eight columns, the plinths for which remain; but
it has been very summarily restored and glazed in. All the same,
it is attractive with its grand marble portal, two handsome niches
with pretty conch tops, and at each end a curious sort of “anta” or
projection of the mosque wall with windows above and below. This
is the handsomest and most interesting of Sinan's many mosques of
this simple type and it deserves a more sympathetic restoration.
There is an ancient hamam just to the east of the mosque. This has
been attributed to Sinan, but wrongly; it is not in the Tezkere and it
appears much earlier in a vakfiye (deed of a pious foundation) of Fatih
himself. It is not very impressive and is hardly worth a visit.