The Seventh Hill - Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City - page 326

mosque in its walled garden. This is Cerrah Paşa Camii, after which
the avenue and the surrounding neighbourhood are named. Cerrah
Mehmet Paşa, who founded it, had been a barber and therefore a
surgeon ( cerrah ), having gotten this official title by performing the
circumcision of the future Sultan Mehmet III. The latter in 1598
appointed him Grand Vezir and wrote him a letter warning him that
he would be drawn and quartered if he did not do his duty. But he
was only required to do his duty for six months or so, for he was
dismissed - without being drawn and quartered - in consequence of
the ill success of the war against Hungary.
An Arabic inscription over the door gives the date as A.H. 1002
(A.D. 1593); the architect was Davut Ağa, Sinan's successor as Chief
Architect. One might rank Cerrah Paşa Camii among the half-dozen
most successful of the vezirial mosques. Its plan presents an interesting
modification of the hexagon-in-rectangle type. The four domes which
flank the central dome at the corners, instead of being oriented along
the diagonals of the rectangle, are parallel with the cross axis. This plan
has the advantage that, for any hexagon, the width of the building
can be increased without limit. Such a plan was never used by Sinan
and is seen again only in Hekimoğlu Ali Paşa Camii, which is a little
farther west on this same hill. The mihrab is in a rectangular apse
which projects from the east wall. The galleries, which run around
three sides of the building, are supported by pretty ogive arches with
polychrome voussoirs of white stone and red conglomerate marble;
in some of the spandrels there are very charming rosettes. In short,
the interior is elegant in detail and gives a sense of spaciousness and
light. The exterior, too, is impressive by its proportions, in spite of the
ruined state of the porch and the unfortunate restoration job that was
done on the domes and semidomes. The porch originally had seven
bays and its eight handsome antique columns are still standing, four
of Proconnesian marble, two of Theban granite, and two of Syenitic
granite. The türbe of the founder, a simple octagonal building, is
in front of the mosque beside the entrance gate. Nearby is a ruined
şadırvan and outside in the corner of the precinct wall is a pretty
çeşme. The complex originally included an interesting hamam which
unfortunately has been destroyed.