Habeşi Mehmed Ağa Tomb
About the Person:
- Habeşi Mehmed Ağa was one of the first eunuchs of Abyssinian origin in the Ottoman Palace and was known for his philanthropy.
- He served as Darüssaade Ağa during the reign of Murad III. He had various charitable works such as mosques, masjids, madrasahs, schools and fountains built in different districts of Istanbul. The mosque and social complex in Çarşamba, Fatih is his most well-known work.
About the Tomb:
Construction Year: 1590
Ordered by: Habeşi Mehmed Agha
Architect: Imperial Architect Davud Ağa
Prominent Features:
- The tomb is located southeast of the Mehmed Ağa Mosque.
- It is a simple structure with a single coffin, a square plan made of cut stone and a dome.
- The corners are softened with rounded columns.
- The plain door with a flat arch is framed with a rectangular moulding.
- It is illuminated by two rows of windows with lintels and iron bars at the bottom and pointed arches at the top.
- The dome is placed on an octagonal drum with pendentives.
- The interior of the place is currently covered with whitewash; in the past it was decorated with hand-drawn works.
- The trace of an arch on the right corner of the façade suggests that there was a portico here in the past.
- The tomb, together with the mosque, reflects the classical style of the period; the verse of the poet Nakkaş Mustafa Ağa indicating the date of his death is known: “May the Guide (Allah) make this the light-filled grave of Mehmed” .
