Karacaahmet Cemetery
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The Karacaahmet Cemetery (Turkish: Karacaahmet Mezarlığı), located in Üsküdar district, is the oldest in Istanbul and, at 750 acres (3.0 km²), the largest burial ground in Turkey.
The cemetery was named after a warrior companion of Orhan I, the second Ottoman sultan and is believed to have been founded in the mid-14th century. It is estimated that over a million people are interred in the non-profit cemetery.[1]
Karacaahmet Cemetery comprises 12 parcels, each dedicated to different religious groups. Many historical headstones with inscripts in Ottoman Turkish alphabet can still be seen. The burial ground is covered by high cypress trees.[2]
The shrine of Karaca Ahmet Sultan, a 13th century physician and saint of Alevis, is situated within the cemetery.[3] There are also many other historical tombs and masjids built during the Ottoman period.
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[edit] Notable burials
- Benderli Ali Pasha, Sultan Mahmud II's Grand Vizier
- Reşat Nuri Güntekin (1889-1956), novelist
- Sheikh Hamdullah (1436-1520), calligrapher
- Oktay Rifat Horozcu (1914-1988), poet
- Cem Karaca (1945-2004), rock musician
- Arif Mardin (1932-2006), Turkish-American music producer
- Fikret Mualla Saygı (1903-1967), painter
- Kaçı Vehip Pasha (1877-1940), Ottoman general
[edit] Damage by Marmaray project
By June 2007, a dent of 1.5 m diameter and 4 m depth occurred close to the cemetery wall, which was caused by the excavation works in the tunnel for Marmaray project. It was reported that some graves were damaged.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Time Out Istanbul (HTML). Time Out. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
- ^ Municipality of Üsküdar (Turkish)
- ^ European Alevi Unions Confederation official website (Turkish)
- ^ Istanbul News (Turkish)
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