Gravestones in the Kandilli treasury in Üsküdar

Gravestones have a special importance as cultural heritage because they give clues about the life of civilisations in the past years and leave artistic traces on them. In this study, the tombstones belonging to the Ottoman period in the treasury located in Kandilli neighbourhood of Üsküdar district were examined. The tombstones in the Kandilli Treasury were evaluated based on their inscriptions and the identities of the personalities living at that time were determined and at the same time information was given about the general condition of the tombstones. There is no specific name information about the treasury. It is referred to as 'Kandilli Haziresi' due to its location in Kandilli neighbourhood. There are a total of 88 inscribed tombstones in the treasury. 44 of the tombstones are male and 37 of them are female tombstones. 7 tombstones could not be identified because they were broken and buried. The tombstones we examined cover the years between 1738-39 and 1869-70. Marble material was used in the tombstones, which are understood to belong to the 18th and 19th centuries. The inscriptions were written using relief technique. Although the female gravestones are generally completed with a triangular top on a rectangular body, plant-decorated gravestones are also found. On the male gravestones, there are examples of scribe turban and fez headdress types. There are few gravestones in cylindrical form. There are also broken and buried gravestones in the treasury. As a result of the field study, although the gender and the year of death of most of them were determined, it could not be understood which year the gravestone belongs to and to whom it belongs due to the high loss of material in some of them and buried in the ground. In the second part of the study, the sheet containing information about the general characteristics and current status of the tombstones is used by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism High Council of Monuments. In the content of the sheet, a 1/1000 scale State Survey Map was used to show the locations of the gravestones in the hazire area under the heading 'Site plan'. Along with the sketch, current photographs and transcriptions of the tombstones are also included in the sheets.