Historic gravestones, inscriptions and antiquities across Türkiye are being documented as part of the Islamic Inscriptions and Gravestones Inventory Project. The project is being carried out under the auspices of the Presidency, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums, and its pilot implementation is taking place in Istanbul.
The work is being conducted by a team of academics from various universities under the coordination of Prof. Dr. Kadir Pektaş, a faculty member in the Department of Art History at Istanbul Medeniyet University’s Faculty of Letters. Active inventory registration efforts, whose preparatory phase began about two years ago, are continuing in Üsküdar.
The stones are being systematically recorded
Teams of between eight and 10 people, depending on the size of the site, are working in the burial grounds of mosques. They first number the gravestones according to a specific system, then photograph each stone, take its measurements and record its GPS coordinates.
The stones’ forms, plan and cross-sectional characteristics, types of headpieces, decorations and the scripts used in their inscriptions are examined. Information obtained from the inscriptions that can be read is entered into the inventory system, and the process is completed after the records are reviewed and approved by experts.
The data collected will be transferred to the Museum National Inventory System under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, with the aim of including Istanbul’s historic gravestones in nationwide inventory efforts.
They carry historical and artistic information
Prof. Dr. Kadir Pektaş said gravestones should not be viewed solely as markers of graves. Describing the stones as works as important as Ayazma Mosque, Pektaş said they contain important records and also have value as works of art.
Pektaş noted that information such as dates, names and decorations can appear together on gravestones. He said that examining the headpieces, decorations and inscriptions together makes it possible to learn about the period’s artistic outlook, as well as people’s professions, status in society and the period in which they lived.
Explaining that GPS allows the stones to be recorded together with the places where they are located, Pektaş said the method clarifies the location of the works. He also said that all gravestones and inscriptions should be recorded as soon as possible.
Traces of faith and social life are being examined
Betül Eser, a research assistant in the Department of Islamic History and Arts at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University’s Faculty of Theology, said gravestones reflect the symbols, culture, beliefs and Sufi elements of a civilization. She said traces of these elements can be seen in the stones’ headpieces, symbols and decorations.
Eser said gravestones also contain symbols related to the afterlife. She explained that fruit bowls symbolize the blessings of paradise, while cypress trees symbolize eternity, and noted that the inscriptions on the stones preserve traces of the belief system, social conditions and state of mind of their periods.
Eser said gravestones from the classical period of the Ottoman Empire contain expressions of submission such as “huvel hayyul baki” and “huvel baki.” She said that after the 19th century, under the influence of the Westernization period, expressions conveying lament over separation and death, such as “ah minel firak,” “ah minel mevt” and “ah, consuming death,” became more common.
They are being mapped through geographic information systems
Dr. Emre Duman, a faculty member in the Department of Geography at Marmara University’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, said cemeteries should not be viewed merely as areas where burials take place. Duman said the project is mapping cemeteries using geographic information systems.
The work records cemetery location data together with attribute data belonging to the stones. This makes it possible to see digitally which stone is located in which cemetery and what its characteristics are.
Duman said many graves had been relocated or gravestones had disappeared, and expressed the view that the mapping work would help prevent such losses. Digital records are also expected to facilitate researchers’ work in the future.
