Usta Sagirt Kümbet - Ahlat (Bitlis Province, Turkey) - Mausoleums on Waymarking.com

Depicted fine example of medieval Seljuq mausolem, called Usta Sagirt Kümbet or Ulu Kümbet (Great Tomb), you can find in a small town Ahlat in Bitlis Province of Turkey. The Usta Sagirt Kümbet is the largest and the most beautiful Seljuk mausoleum in historic regional center, town Ahlat.

The Usta Sagirt Kümbet, built between 1273-1275 for a Seljuq chieftain, is almost 20 m high and surmounted by a conical stone roof. The dodecagonal, reddish stone structure is embellished with finely carved, flowing arabesques and pierced by ornate arched windows and a doorway. Like all the tombs at Ahlat, the Usta Sagirt Kümbet is two stories. The bottom floor, partly sunk beneath ground level, was for the mummified deceased (up to four family members could be interred here). The much higher upper floor was a prayer hall and contained an empty, symbolic sarcophagus.

Kümbet is the name given to Seljuq mausoleums. Kümbet are an important part of Seljuq architecture. In Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran where the Turks set up states and ruled for centuries, there are a number of examples of such mausoleums. Particularly fashionable in the 13th century. These monuments, referred to in Turkish as Kümbet, are a continuation of the Turkish burial customs of Central Asia. These structures are either polygonal or cylindrical in shape arid are covered with a dome. The main body of the monument rests on a cubic base, the corners of which are bevelled. In the examples built before the 16th century the dome is covered with a conical or pyramidal spire. Most of these monuments are two storied. Concealed inside the base, half of which is below ground level, is a crypt; the latter is covered by a vault and its floor is earth. The deceased was buried in the earth. The crypt had small loop-hole windows. Most Kümbet in Turkey are found in the provinces of Kayseri, Erzurum, Konya, and Bitlis. [excerpted from wiki]