Emir Bayindir Kümbet - Ahlat (Bitlis Province, Turkey) - Mausoleums on Waymarking.com

This medieval Seljuq mausolem connected with a small mosque, called Emir Bayindir Kümbet (Emir Bayindir Tomb), you can find in a small town Ahlat in Bitlis Province of Turkey. The Emir Bayindir Kümbet is from architectonic point of view the most unusual Seljuk mausoleum in historic regional center, town Ahlat.

Emir Bayindir Kümbet was built at the height of Akkoyunlu Turcoman power (1481) for the chieftain and propagator of faith - emir Bayindir. This kümbet, instead of being closed in at its upper storey, has an open colonnaded arcade supporting its conical roof, so that you can look out from inside. Apparently the only other Seljuq mausoleum like it is to be found in Azerbaijan.

Kümbet is the name given to Seljuq mausoleums. Kümbets 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]