Abacı Dede Tomb

Audio Narration:

Person in the Tomb:

Abacı Dede

Location of the Tomb:

Üsküdar, İstanbul

Title:

Dervish

Birth / Death:

Unknown- 1704/1705

About the Person:
  • Abacı Dede is one of the most famous dervishes of Üsküdar.
  • It is said that he wore and sold clothes made of hodden throughout his life.
  • It is said among the people that the tongue twister “I have an aba (hodden cloth), I lay it out / I sleep wherever I want” was first said by him.
  • After his death, he was buried in the place he lived in. According to legend, Nevşehirli İbrahim Pasha heard of his fame and had a tomb built over him.
About the Tomb:

Construction Year: 1704-1705

Ordered by: Unknown

Architect: Unknown

Prominent Features:

  • It is a simple structure with four walls of masonry and a wooden roof.
  • It has a window overlooking Abacı Dede Street and a wooden door on the side opening onto a dead-end street.
  • There is no inscription on the building.
  • The sarcophagus made of bricks was plastered with cement and covered with a wooden coffin.
  • There is a Selimi-style turban motif on the gravestone and the date is engraved as Hijri 1116 (1704-1705).
  • The tomb also contains the broken gravestone of Ümmühani Hatun, who is believed to be Abacı Dede’s mother.