Cedid Havatin Tomb
About the Person:
- Sultan Murad V was born in Istanbul in 1840. His father was Sultan Abdülmecid and his mother was Şevkefza Kadın, of Georgian origin.
- He learned French, was known for his fondness for literature and art, and became close to important poets of the period such as Ziya Paşa and Namık Kemal. He learned to play the piano, was interested in Western music and composed music.
- He became the sultan after his uncle Sultan Abdulaziz was dethroned in 1876. However, he was dethroned three months later on the grounds that he was mentally unstable, and became one of the sultans who reigned for the shortest time in Ottoman history.
- He spent the rest of his life in the Çırağan Palace. It is reported that Murad V, who was known for his closeness to Western thought, was interested in Freemasonry and that this idea developed after he met the Prince of Wales.
About the Tomb:
Construction Year: End of the 19th century
Ordered by: Ottoman Palace (as part of the New Mosque Complex)
Architect: Unknown
Prominent Features:
- The Cedid (New) Havatin Tomb is a new tomb built as an addition to the Havatin Tomb, which was added for women after the Hatice Turhan Sultan Tomb became insufficient. The rectangular planned structure has a dome on its northwestern part. The tomb can be entered from both a door on the western side and a window on the northern side of the Havatin Tomb.
- The lighting of the space is provided by the lower windows on the east and west facades and the upper windows on the north. The lower windows have socketed iron grids.
- The dome, drum and pendentives are decorated with hand-drawn ornaments in black and blue-grey tones. The flower motifs, especially the ones overflowing from the basket-woven vases, are decorated with leaf frames. Also noteworthy are the frescoes depicting the Kaaba and Medina.
- The coffin belonging to Sultan Murad V is surrounded by brass grids of high artistic value. On some coffins there are silk embroidered scarves on velvet. The architecture of the tomb reflects the Ottoman ornamentation and monumental burial tradition of the period.
