Otoman Period gravestones in İzmir Çesme (center) and Alacatı

The subject of this thesis is Ottoman period grave stones take place in Çeşme Musalla district central cemetary, Çeşme Hacı Mehmet Ağa mosque cemetary and Alaçatı Memiş Ağa cemetary. Ottoman period grave stones belong to 18th-19th and first half of the 20th century has also an important historical source for Çeşme's history. The grave stones which have common characteristics with western Anatolian's draw attention with forms and ornaments of the period. These very unknown and important historical gravestones have been waiting for the end of themselves in their places. İn my thesis study 205 grave stones were evaluated in total. The earliest date of tombstones belongs 1716's and the latest date belongs to 1930 in republic period. 108 grave stones belong to men among 205 grave stones. 95 male gravestones have headgears and 13 of them are broken or don't have any headgears. 79 female gravestones have headgears and 5 of them are broken. 13 tombs which haven't got any grave stones were evaluated with their present forms. In my thesis work I examined and evaluated the gravestones under six main headings; technic and material, grave type, tombstone type, headgear typology, ornaments and tombstone writings. The motifs used in ornaments under the influnce of naturalist, and Baroque style were used not only for female's tombstones but also male's tombstones. Floral motifs and architectural decoration motifs were used also. The inscriptions were written Sülüs, Celi Sülüs, Ta'lik, Celi Ta'lik and Rık'a calligraphy. The grave stones valuable in terms of art history with their ornaments and inscriptions are the embodiments of the given value to death and dead person in Turkish society throughout the history. We can see the examples of this cultural extension on Çeşme's gravestones. Key Words: Çeşme, Alaçatı, Grave stones, Ornament, Inscription