Emir Bayindir Kümbeti
Ahlat, Türkiye
An inscriptive band below the cornice of the tomb announces that the building was built for Bayindir ibn Rüstem, who died in 1481 (886 A.H.). It was commissioned by his wife Sah Selime Hatun and completed in 1491 (897 A.H.). The architect is unknown but Baba Can Bey is mentioned as the builder on an inscriptive plaque found on the small mosque of Emir Bayindir to the north of the tomb. It was restored in 1967 by General Directorate of Religious Endowments.

The tomb was built as a part of a complex including a small mosque and zawiya (zaviye), which is now completely lost now. The spherical tomb is raised about two and a half meters above the ground on a crypt and covered with a dome topped with a shallow conical crown on the exterior.

The narrow door of the crypt, which is placed off center on the east façade, has sunken below the ground level and is reached by seven steps. It is about six and a half meters square on the interior and lit by narrow slits on the east, west and south walls. A barrel vault aligned east-west supports the chamber above.

The cylindrical body of the tomb sits on the square crypt whose corners are chamfered on the exterior to create a dodecagon base for the tomb chamber. The entryway faces the qibla wall of the mosque and is accessed with a double staircase. The door is framed by three decorative bands and crowned by an unusual muqarnas vault with floral carvings. Elongated niches on each side of the door are framed with a band of diamond motifs carved into the stone. The southern hall of the cylinder facing the lake is opened with ten short columns defining nine windows. The columns are about one meter high and have heavy muqarnas capitals are connected with small arches. The parapet below is carved with ornate niches aligned vertically with the columns. The niche facing the qibla is left shallow to accommodate a mihrab niche inside the tomb. The inscriptive band, bordered by decorative bands is placed below the muqarnas cornice. The tomb is made of red sand stone.

Sources:

Erken, Sabih. Türkiye'de vakif abideler ve eski eserler, 262-267. Ankara: Vakiflar Genel Müdürlügü Yayinlari, 1977.

Sözen, Metin. Anadolu'da Akkoyunlu mimarisi, 155-157. I Istanbul: Türkiye Turing ve Otomobil Kurumu, 1981.

Uluçam, Abdüsselâm. Ortaçag ve sonrasinda Van Gölü çevresi mimarligi, 202-2-5. Ankara: T.C. Kültür Bakanligi, 2000.
Location
West part of Ikikubbe Neighborhood, Ahlat, Türkiye
Images & Videos
Events
1491-1492/897 AH, restored 1967/1387 AH
Style Periods
Variant Names
Emir Bayindir Tomb
Variant
Parmaklikli Kümbet
Variant
Building Usages
funerary