Established Mid-14th century Size 750 acres (3.0 km) | Type Public | |
 | ||
Similar Şakirin Cami, KARACA CAMI, Valide‑i Atik Mosque, Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı, Yeni Valide Mosque | ||
Fountain design for karacaahmet cemetery
The Karacaahmet Cemetery (Turkish: Karacaahmet Mezarlığı) is a 700-year-old historic cemetery, located in Üsküdar, the Asian side of Istanbul. Karacaahmet cemetery is the oldest in Istanbul and at 750 acres (3.0 km2), the largest burial ground in Turkey.
Contents
The cemetery was named after a warrior companion of Orhan I, the second Ottoman sultan and is believed to have been founded in the mid-14th century. It is estimated that over a million people are interred in the non-profit cemetery.
Karacaahmet Cemetery comprises 12 parcels, each dedicated to different religious groups. Many historical headstones can still be seen with inscriptions written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet, a version of the Arabic alphabet,. The burial ground is covered by high cypress trees.
The shrine of Karaca Ahmet Sultan, a 13th-century physician and saint of Alevis, a sect of Islam, is situated within the cemetery. There are also many other historical tombs and masjids, which is the Arabic word for mosques, built during the Ottoman period.
Notable burials
List in sorted order of the year of death.
Damage by Marmaray project
By June 2007, a dent of 1.5 m diameter and 4 m depth occurred close to the cemetery wall, which was caused by the excavation works in the tunnel for Marmaray project. It was reported that some graves were damaged.