Baba Cafer Tomb
About the Person:
- Baba Cafer came to Istanbul as part of the embassy delegation together with Baba Maksud, a descendant of Uwais al-Qarani, during the reign of Abbasid Caliph Harun Rashid.
- According to the rumors, he was thrown into prison and martyred there due to a disagreement with the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I.
- During the Ottoman period, he was accepted as a saint by the people of Istanbul, especially women, and his tomb became a place of pilgrimage.
- It is stated in different sources that Baba Cafer was thrown into prison because of the Sufi attitudes he displayed while praying in Hagia Sophia. The discovery of his tomb happened during the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror by a sheikh named Abdurrauf Zindani who came from Edirne.
About the Tomb:
Construction Year: 15th century
Ordered by: Sheikh Abdurrauf Zindani
Architect: Unknown
Prominent Features:
- Baba Cafer Tomb is located on the surviving lower floor of the three-story historical Baba Cafer Dungeon.
- The tomb was frequently visited by women during the Ottoman period and was considered a sacred place.
- The dungeon structure was destroyed by fires and earthquakes over time, and only the tomb and some of the surrounding structures remained standing.
- It ceased to function as a prison in 1834; during the reign of Mahmud II, the prisoners were transferred to Sultanahmet Prison.
- The tomb is surrounded by buildings constructed over time and has remained largely hidden. The surrounding neighborhood was destroyed during the 1956–1958 Golden Horn coastal arrangement.
- The dungeon where the tomb is located was one of the important prisons of the Ottoman Empire, where people from different social groups, including thieves, prostitutes, debtors, janissaries, and even some patriarchs, were punished.
- The tomb’s role in social memory is as great as its spiritual meaning, and it draws attention as an Ottoman institution that reflects both the understanding of punishment and reform.
