Tomb of Turhan Sultan

{{Short description|Mausoleum of 5 Ottoman Sultans, at Fatih, İstanbul, Turkey}} {{Infobox monument | name = | native_name = Turhan Sultan Türbesi | native_name_lang = tr | image = Hatice Turhan Sultan Türbesi.jpg | image_size = | caption = Entrance to the Tomb of Turhan Sultan | location = [[Fatih]], [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]] | mapframe = | designer = Mustafa Agha | type = [[Mausoleum]] | material = [[Iznik tile]]s, [[mother-of-pearl]] inlaid woodwork | length = {{convert|15|m}} | width = {{convert|15|m}} | height = | weight = | visitors_num = | visitors_year = | begin = | complete = 1663 | dedicated = | open = | restore = 1959 | dismantled = | dedicated_to = [[Turhan Sultan]] | map_name = | map_text = | map_width = | map_relief = | coordinates = | website = | extra_label = Graves | extra = 44 }} The '''Tomb of Turhan Sultan''' ({{langx|tr|Turhan Sultan Türbesi}}) is the [[mausoleum]] of five [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] sultans, located at [[Fatih]] in [[Istanbul]], Turkey. It was built in 1663 for [[Turhan Sultan]], first [[Haseki sultan|Haseki]] of Sultan [[Ibrahim of the Ottoman Empire|Ibrahim]] and mother of Sultan [[Mehmed IV]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Journal |first=M. F. |last2=MuseumFind.com |date=2025-11-18 |title=Turhan Museum (Istanbul) |url=https://museumfind.com/turkey/turhan-museum/ |access-date=2025-12-04 |website=MuseumFind.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Overview== The tomb is situated on the corner of Bankacılar St. and Yeni Cami St. in [[Eminönü]] quarter of Fatih in Istanbul.<ref name="kv"/> It was built in 1663 for [[Turhan Sultan]] (c. 1627–1683). She was the first [[Haseki sultan|Haseki Sultan]] of [[Ibrahim of the Ottoman Empire|Sultan Ibrahim]] (reigned 1640–1648) and the mother and [[Valide sultan|Valide Sultan]] of Sultan [[Mehmed IV]] (r. 1648–1687). The tomb was built as part of the [[New Mosque (Istanbul)|New Mosque]] complex, of which construction was started in 1598 by [[Safiye Sultan (wife of Murad III)|Safiye Sultan]] (c. 1550 – c. 1619), the Haseki of Sultan [[Murad III]] (r. 1574–1595), the Valide Sultan of Sultan [[Mehmed III]] (r. 1595–1603) as well as the grandmother of Sultans [[Ahmed I]] (r. 1603–1617) and [[Mustafa I]] (r. 1617–1618, 1622–1623), and completed by Turhan Hatice Sultan in 1665. The tomb contains 44 graves in total. In addition to Turhan Sultan, five sultans, Mehmed IV, [[Mustafa II]] (r. 1695–1703), [[Ahmed III]] (r. 1703–1730), [[Mahmud I]] (r. 1730–1754) and [[Osman III]] (r. 1754–1757), rest in the tomb. Other notables are [[Şehzade|Şehzades]] and [[Sultana (title)|Sultana]]s, namely princes, princesses, and [[Kadın (title)|Kadın]] (consorts) as relatives of the sultans.<ref name="tas"/>

==Architecture== The tomb was built by court architect Mustafa Agha. It was designed in square-plan having a porch of the size {{cvt|15|x|15|m}} in front of its entrance gate. The porch's dome is carried by [[pendant vault]]s and [[Vault (architecture)|arched vault]]s built with interchangeably white and red stones. The porch is decorated with tiles and carvings. The rectangular panels on the porch walls contain each a red and pale green [[Rosette (design)|rosette]] on white ground. The panels have decorative fillings on the corners. On the right side of the gate, an inscription reads literally "Oh! my [[Allah]], who opens the doors, open auspicial doors to us".<ref name="tas"/>

Windows in two rows around the building, with exception on the porch side, bring light inside the tomb. The lower row windows are rectangular and are barred while the upper row windows have pointed-arch design. The tomb's interior is decorated with [[Iznik pottery|Iznik tile]]s and carvings. The original decorations on the walls and at the dome interior were recovered during the restoration works in 1959. In the 19th and 20th centuries, some carvings were added as copies of the original ones in the medallions and rosettes. A tile belt surrounding the interior contains the inscription of the 1st-30th [[Āyah|āyāt]] of the [[Quran]]ic [[surah]] [[Al-Mulk]]. An inscription in two lines of [[Taʿlīq script]] was attached into the western wall of the tomb during the burial of Sultan Mehmed IV. Sultan Ahmed III built a library on the right side of the porch. In later years, two more tombs, named "Havatin" and "Cedid Havatin", were built next to the tomb.<ref name="tas"/>

==References== <references>

<ref name="tas">{{cite web |url=http://www.tas-istanbul.com/portfolio-view/eminonu-hatice-turhan-sultan-turbesi/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160612083730/http://www.tas-istanbul.com/portfolio-view/eminonu-hatice-turhan-sultan-turbesi/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=June 12, 2016 |publisher=TAS stanbul |title=Eminönü Hatice Turhan Sultan Türbesi |language=tr |accessdate=19 July 2019 }}</ref> <ref name="kv">{{cite web |url=http://www.kulturvarliklari.gov.tr/TR-44099/istanbul-turbeler-muze-mudurlugu.html |publisher=Kültür Varlıkları ve Müzeler Genel Müdürlüğü |title=İstanbul Türbeler Müzesi Müdürlüğüme BağlıBulunan Türbelerin Lstesi |language=tr |accessdate=19 July 2019 }}</ref>

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[[Category:Ottoman architecture in Turkey]] [[Category:Tombs of sultans of the Ottoman Empire|Turhan Hatice]] [[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1663]] [[Category:1663 establishments in the Ottoman Empire]] [[Category:Religious buildings and structures in Istanbul]] [[Category:Fatih]]