Faith / Tomb (türbe)
Mama Hatun Kümbet
Tercan, Erzincan
A Saltukid-period monumental tomb with a plan unparalleled in Anatolia, its kümbet with a lobed body rising in the middle of a circular enclosure wall.
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Its story
The kümbet built for the tomb of Melike Mama Hatun stands right in the middle of a thick, round enclosure wall about 13.5 meters in diameter. On the inner face of the courtyard, entered through the ornate portal on the west, thirteen pointed-arched niches are lined up; one of them has been turned into a fountain, and the cenotaphs in six of them are thought to belong to Mama Hatun's relatives. According to the inscription on the portal, its architect was Ebü'n-Nemâ b. Mufaddal of Ahlat. The eight-lobed body of the two-story kümbet is covered by a conical roof; in the cross-vaulted burial chamber, reached by going down four steps, is Mama Hatun's cenotaph. This combination of an enclosure wall and a kümbet makes the building unique in Anatolian Turkish architecture. As damaged parts were completed with plain stones during repairs, only part of the original decoration has survived.
Key facts
- Period
- Saltukid, late 12th – early 13th century
- Admission
- Free
- Getting there
- Tercan district center, near the caravanserai
- Visit duration
- 20–30 minutes
Trip purpose
- Free
- Photography
Location
39.77776, 40.38664
Reviews
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Source: Web derlemesi (doğrulanmalı): https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mama-hatun-kulliyesi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tercan | https://goturkiye.com/erzincan/see | https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q135582833