Kirgizlar Mausoleum
Iznik, Türkiye

The mausoleum (türbe) called Kirgizlar (The Kirghiz) is located outside the Yenisehir Gate of Iznik alongside ruins of the Orhan Gazi Mescid and Soup Kitchen, soon after the Ottoman conquest. Estimated to belong to the same period, the mausoleum was probably built to honor warrior-mystics from Central Asia who were involved in the conquest and its aftermath.

The mausoleum consists of a domed grave chamber preceded by a portal eyvan to the north. The eyvan, currently entered through a door, was originally open on the north. Its barrel vault has since collapsed. A door, framed with molded marble fragments of Byzantine origin, leads into the lofty grave chamber. The room is crowned by a conical dome on pendentives raised by means of a tall dodecagonal drum. Six windows on the east, west and north walls, a single window on the south wall and four additional windows on the drum of the dome illuminate the room. Inside the drum and the dome, sections of colored painted decoration remain visible.

The grave chamber houses eight sarcophagi of various sizes with no inscriptions; there are six more graves in the eyvan. The walls of the building were built using two layers of brick between two or three layers of stone and are capped with saw tooth brick cornices. The brick dome is covered with terra-cotta tiles.

Sources:

Iznik. Tarih ve Müze Komitesi Yayini, Kenan Matbaasi: Istanbul, 1943
Türkiye'de Vakif Abideler ve Eski Eserler. (Volume IV) Vakiflar Genel Müdürlügü Yayinlari: Ankara, 1972.

Ayverdi, Ekrem Hakki. Osmanli mi'marisinin ilk devri: Ertugrul, Osman, Orhan Gaaziler, Hüdavendigar ve Yildirim Bayezid 630-805 (1230-1402): I. Baha Matbaasi: Istanbul, 1966.

Eyice, Semavi. Iznik: Tarihçesi ve Eski Eserleri (Nicaea: The History and the Monuments). Sanat Tarihi Arastirmalari Dergisi Yayinlari: Istanbul, 1988.

Kuran, Aptullah. The mosque in early Ottoman architecture. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1968.

Yalman, Bedri. Iznik (Nicaea). Governorship of Bursa, Provincial Directorate of Tourism: Bursa, 1999.

Location

Outside of the Yenisehir Gate, Iznik, Türkiye

Associated Names

Events

mid 14th C.

Style Periods

1299-1922

Variant Names

Kirgizlar Türbesi
Variant
Kirk Kizlar Mausoleum
Variant

Site Types

funerary