Academics map Istanbul gravestones to preserve heritage

ISTANBUL

A state-backed project launched two years ago has academics mapping and cataloging historic gravestones across Istanbul’s iconic mosque courtyards, safeguarding centuries of architectural and historical data.

The Islamic Inscriptions and Gravestones Inventory Project operates under the auspices of the Presidency with support from the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums.

An eight- to 10-person team conducts active fieldwork in the Üsküdar district, photographing each stone, recording precise measurements and capturing GPS coordinates immediately upon entering a site.

Data from headpiece types, plan and section features, decorations and script forms is entered into the ministry’s Museum National Inventory System after a detailed expert examination process. Istanbul Medeniyet University art history faculty member Professor Kadir Pektaş coordinates the work.

He told state-run Anadolu Agency the gravestones should not be viewed merely as grave markers, but rather as vital historical records and significant artworks. “We clarify their locations by taking coordinates with GPS,” he said. “We are essentially taking the title deed of the artifact.”

He said the stones are as important as the Ayazma Mosque where they stand, providing direct dates, names, naive craftsmanship and aesthetic features revealing the deceased person’s profession and social status through their headpieces.

Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University theology faculty research assistant Betül Eser said gravestones feature symbols representing the afterlife, such as fruit bowls symbolizing heaven’s blessings and cypress trees representing eternity.

She said classical Ottoman gravestones carry phrases of surrender to God, while 19th-century Westernization introduced expressions of worldly attachment and lamentation like scorching death and scorching separation.

“Even if these gravestones occupy a 1- or 2-square-meter area, they are artifacts reflecting the entire belief and social situation of their era,” she said.
Marmara University geography faculty member Assistant Professor Emre Duman said they use geographic information systems to map spatial and attribute data, preventing future losses of relocated or damaged artifacts.

These enclosed burial areas, traditionally reserved for state officials, religious figures and local notables in the Ottoman Empire, are scattered throughout the city’s older districts.

The ministry’s centralized database allows researchers and authorities to track Türkiye’s cultural heritage assets, monitoring their conservation status and preventing the illegal sale of historical artifacts.