Mahmutpaşa Hamamı

The bath of the complex of Mahmud Pasha, grand vizier to Mehmed the Conqueror, on Mahmutpaşa Yokuşu. According to the inscription over its door it was built in 1466-1467, making it one of the oldest surviving baths in Istanbul. It was built as a double bath, and the women's section was later demolished. The men's changing hall is covered by a windowed dome about 17 metres across, set on muqarnas squinches, and the hot room is octagonal. Restored in 1953 and briefly used as a bath again, it later became a storeroom and in the 1990s a bazaar full of shops.