Where are the tombs of the sultans? Where were all the sultans burieda?
Before his ascension to throne, the last Ottoman Sultan Mehmed Vahdeddin VI saw the body of his elder brother Sultan Mehmed Reşad V lying in his coffin in this place and said the following noteworthy words:
– (I have learned) how short the distance between throne and teneshir (the bench on which the body of the deceased is washed) is … (Hilmi AYDIN, Hirka-i Saadet Dairesi ve Mukaddes Emanetler, p. 49)
Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror: He is buried in his tomb with one sarcophagus in the yard of Fatih Mosque.
Sultan Bayezid Veli: He is buried in his tomb with one sarcophagus in the yard of Bayezid Mosque in Beyazıt.
Sultan Selim the Steadfast: Sultan Selim is buried in his tomb with one sarcophagus in the yard of Yavuz Selim Mosque.
Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent: He is buried in his huge tomb with seven sarcophagi in the yard of Süleymaniye Mosque located in Süleymaniye district.
Sultan Selim II: He is buried in the second great tomb from the corner in the front yard of Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia) Mosque with forty-two sarcophagi.
Sultan Murad III: He is buried in the third great tomb from the corner in the front yard of Hagia Sophia Mosque with fifty-four sarcophagi.
Sultan Mehmed III: He is buried in the first great tomb from the corner in the front yard of Hagia Sophia Mosque with twenty-six sarcophagi and sebil (public fountain).
Sultan Ahmed I: He is buried in his tomb with thirty-six sarcophagi next to the Blue Mosque in Sultanahmet district.
Sultan Osman II: He is buried in his father’s huge tomb with thirty-six sarcophagi next to the Blue Mosque in Sultanahmet district.
Sultan Murad IV: He is buried in his father’s huge tomb with thirty-six sarcophagi next to the Blue Mosque in Sultanahmet district.
Sultan Ibrahim: He is buried in his uncle Mustafa I’s tomb with seventeen sarcophagi located next to the front wall of Hagia Sophia Mosque.
Sultan Mehmed IV: He is buried in his mother’s huge tomb with forty-five sarcophagi behind the New Mosque in Eminönü.
Sultan Suleiman II: He is buried in the tomb of Sultan Süleyman I with seven sarcophagi in the yard of Süleymaniye Mosque in Süleymaniye district.
Sultan Ahmed II: He is buried in the tomb of Sultan Süleyman I with seven sarcophagi in the yard of Süleymaniye Mosque in Süleymaniye district.
Sultan Mustafa II: He is buried in his grandmother’s and father’s tomb called Turhan Sultan Tomb, with forty-five sarcophagi behind the New Mosque in Eminönü district.
Sultan Ahmed III: He is buried in his grandmother’s and father’s tomb called Turhan Sultan Tomb, with forty-five sarcophagi behind the New Mosque in Eminönü district.
Sultan Mahmud I: He is buried in Turhan Sultan Tomb with forty-five sarcophagi behind the New Mosque in Eminönü district.
Sultan Osman III: He is buried in the Turhan Sultan Tomb with forty-five sarcophagi behind the New Mosque in Eminönü district.
Sultan Mustafa III: He is buried in Laleli Tomb with eight sarcophagi located in front of Laleli Mosque in Laleli district.
Sultan Abdülhamid I: He is buried in Hamidiye Tomb with twenty sarcophagi located opposite to Vakıf Hanı in Bahçekapı district.
Sultan Selim III: He is buried in his father’s tomb with eight sarcophagi located in front of Laleli Mosque in Laleli district.
Sultan Mustafa IV: He is buried in his father’s Hamidiye Tomb with twenty sarcophagi located opposite to Vakıf Hanı in Bahçekapı district.
Sultan Mahmud II: He is buried in the tomb in the district called Türbe in Cağaloğlu district. This tomb is also called “The Tomb of Sultan Mahmud.”
Sultan Abdülmecid: He is buried in the tomb of Sultan Selim the Steadfast next to Sultan Selim Mosque.
Sultan Abdülaziz: He is buried in the Tomb of Sultan Mahmud in Cağaloğlu district.
Sultan Murad V: He is buried in his mother Şevkefza Sultan’s tomb located next to the New Mosque in Eminönü district.
Sultan Abdülhamid II: He is buried in the Tomb of Sultan Mahmud in Cağaloğlu district.
Sultan Mehmed V: He is buried in his tomb located next to the primary school building in Eyüp district.
The Tomb Keeper of Sultan Selim
During the time of Sultan Abdülhamid II, there is a poor tomb keeper working in the Tomb of Sultan Selim. One day, the tomb keeper’s pregnant wife said to her husband:
– My dear Husband, I have craving for cherry. You can buy me some cherry on your way back to home in the evening, can’t you?
Her husband said “Ok!” and went to the tomb. However, because he did not have any money, he could not buy any cherries. His wife asked when he came back to home:
– You were going to buy me some cherry, did you forget?
The man felt embarrassed and could not say that he had no money. He said, “I will buy tomorrow inshallah, my lady!” The next day after the afternoon prayer, he began to think about what he could do. He had no money in his pocket for a kilo of cherry. Under such distress, he knocked on the sarcophagus of Sultan Yavuz Selim with the broomstick in his hand and said:
– And they say you are a saint. Hah! I am at your service in your tomb for years, and I get no benefit. My pregnant wife at home asks for a kilo of cherry, and I have no money to pay for it.
He returned empty handed to his wife who was waiting for cherry at home, and his embarrassment was much more than the previous day. On the third day, he saw a military officer waiting for him in front of the tomb:
– “Gentleman, are you the tomb keeper?” the officer asked.
– “Yes, I am” the man replied faintheartedly.
– Come along! Our emperor Sultan Abdülhamit asked for you!
The man felt surprised and scared at the same time. He started to tremble out of fear. The tomb keeper was brought to the presence of Sultan Abdülhamit. Sultan asked solicitously:
– Tell me! What happened in the tomb of my grandfather Yavuz yesterday?
The tomb keeper replied stutteringly out of fear:
– Nothing happened, Sir!
– O man, the tomb keeper! I am asking you what happened in my grandfather’s tomb yesterday. Tell me at once!
The poor tomb keeper told in fear what happened the previous day:
– Sir! My wife is pregnant, she has been asking for cherry for the last two days and I could not buy it. At last, I knocked on the sarcophagus of our sultan with the broomstick in my hand, reproached, and complained a little bit.
Sultan Abdülhamit understood the tomb keeper, smiled and commanded him to be given a bag of gold. The salary of the tomb keeper was doubled. Sultan Abdülhamit said to the tomb keeper:
– If you ever need something, do not bother my dear late grandfather! You knocked on my grandfather’s sarcophagus, and he knocked on my head all night long, and did not let me sleep. He scolded me saying, “Why don’t you take care of my tomb keeper?”
The Gravestones
Ottoman Turks have a peculiar graveyard art. By means of this art, the graveyards have been transformed and have no longer been considered as scary places. This art has created a new style that is in touch with both realms of this world and afterlife. This style cannot be seen in any other regular and martyrs’ cemeteries in the world. Each stone is a special and multidimensional piece of art… Let’s think about how the carvings on the stones, the poems written in abjad system which show the date of death, and the different styles of carvings of these poems written by masters of calligraphy turn a simple stone into a piece of art! By looking from a distance, it is possible to know the buried person’s gender, profession, and whether he was child, young or old when he/she passed away without even reading the epitaph on the gravestone. (İbrahim Refik, Tarih Şuuruna Doğru 3, p. 52)
Source: Harun Kırkıl, Read About and Travel Around ISTANBUL, Erkam Publications