This is the mosque of Cerrah Paşa. Cerrah Mehmet Paşa was a barber and therefore a surgeon (cerrah), who performed the circumcision of the future Sultan Mehmet III. The latter appointed him Grand Vezir, as it turned out for only six months. The mosque dates from 1593 and was designed by Davut Ağa, Sinans successor as Chief Architect. (info: Strolling through Istanbul; Redhouse).

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 little farther west on the same hill.