Ottoman Period tombstones in the Antalya; Alanya and Manavgat districts

Tombstones, which are the most beautiful samples of Turkish cultural heritage, have great importance in terms of being a primary source of history. Considering that they are the reflections of their construction period, culture, art, ethnicity and belief, these extremely valuable stones are one of the most important works that have to be preserved and investigated. Therefore, this thesis study was entitled 'Ottoman Period Tombstones in the Antalya; Alanya and Manavgat Districts'. In the current study, firstly, the relevant literature was reviewed, and relevant tombstones were detected, photographed and catalogued in the mentioned districts (Alanya, Manavgat). As a result of the investigations, 76 grave structures which had preserved their unique grave form were identified in Alanya and Manavgat. They were categorised into four main groups: earth grave, framed grave, sarcophagus grave, and cover stone grave. Within the scope of this study, four hundred tombstones were introduced in the catalogue section. Two hundred sixty two of these were headstones, and one hundred thirty eight of them were footstones. When the graves were categorised according to males and females, of the 262 head stones, 187 belonged to men, and 63 to women. Of the 138 foot stones, 96 belonged to men, and 26 to women. It was not possible to identify the gender of 12 head stones and 16 foot stones. Three of the gravestones dated to the second half of the 17th Century, five to the first half of the 18th Century, 31 to the second half of the 18th Century, 47 to the first half of the 19th Century, 73 to the second half of the 19th Century, and 58 to the first half of the 20th Century. The remaining 45 head stones (seven together with their footstones) and 15 foot stones without their head stone could not be dated. A historical investigation of the tombstones revealed that they were mostly samples, belonging to the 19th and 20th centuries. The earliest example dated back to H-1085 / M-1674-75 A.D, and the most recent dates back to 1930 A.D.