Ahlat Seljuk Square Cemetery

Ahlat is counted among the most important centres of Turkish-Islamic history, and its monumental tombstones shed light on that past. The town, once called the "Dome of Islam", hosted many civilisations. The gravestones have become its symbol and are sometimes called the title deed of Anatolia.

The cemetery covers 210,000 square metres, making it the largest historic Islamic cemetery in the country. Some stones approach four metres in height, a reminder of Ahlat's past grandeur. Epigraphic study of the inscriptions has yielded data on the origins of the migrants who came to the region and on the trades of its inhabitants, giving a picture of Ahlat's social and economic life.

Look for the different tomb types. Tombs with a "sahide" (a tall marker stone) are rarer here and are earlier, made up of Seljuk-period sarcophagi. Tombs with a sarcophagus and a marker are the most common type in the cemetery and were favoured throughout the periods. Dragon motifs, linked in Central Asian and old Turkic tradition with fortune, abundance and power, also appear.