Nalıncı Mimi Dede Tomb
About the Person:
- His real name was Mehmed, and he was known by the names Nalıncı Dede, Meczub Mimi, Şeyh Mehmed Halveti, and also as Yatağan Dede. He is believed to have been born around 1540 and died in 1661.
- After arriving in Istanbul, he studied under prominent scholars of the time and earned his living by crafting wooden clogs (nalın) in his small shop opposite Azaplar Mosque in Unkapanı.
- Beloved by the people of Istanbul for his generosity toward the poor, orphans, and the needy, his reputation reached Sultan Murad III. Although the sultan never met him personally, he reportedly saw Nalıncı Dede’s death in a dream and, upon awakening, fulfilled a spiritual will conveyed in the dream by organizing his funeral at Fatih Mosque and ordering his burial in his own shop.
- A fountain and a lodge were also built next to the tomb on the sultan’s orders.
- Evliya Çelebi mentions the miraculous qualities (karāmāt) of Nalıncı Mimi Dede in his Seyahatname, and such accounts continued to be passed down among the people after his death.
About the Tomb:
Construction Year: 1661
Ordered by: Murad III
Architect: Unknown
Prominent Features:
- Sultan Murad III ordered the construction of a tomb over Nalıncı Mimi Dede’s grave, as well as an adjoining tekke (dervish lodge) and a fountain.
- The tomb is rectangular in plan and made of finely cut küfeki stone.
- It is topped with a high drum supporting a dome.
- There is a rectangular window—likely converted from an original doorway—above which sits a three-line inscription panel.
- Above the inscription is a pointed-arch window; to the right of the windows is a horseshoe-arched fountain, and to the left is a flat-arched entrance door.
