Destari Mustafa Paşa Tomb
About the Person:
- Destari Mustafa Paşa was an important statesman who held various positions in the Ottoman state during the reign of Sultan Ahmed I (1603–1617).
- He was educated in Enderun, served as a imrahor (responsible for Sultan’s horses), beylerbey, grand vizier district governor, dome vizier and vizier. The Paşa, who was a son-in-law in the palace, died in 1614.
- The fact that he had his tomb built while he was alive is remarkable in terms of both his wealth and religious sensitivity.
About the Tomb:
Construction Year: 1611
Ordered by: Destari Mustafa Paşa
Architect: Unknown
Prominent Features:
- The tomb was built with cut stone and has a rectangular plan.
- The upper cover consists of a dome sitting on a protruding octagonal drum; there are mirror vaults on the sides.
- There are two rows of windows on the street-facing facade; the lower rows are rectangular, and the upper ones are eyebrow arched.
- A visitor section with three columns and a flat roof was added later, attached to the entrance.
- There are two inscriptions, one of 20 lines placed on the façade and the other of 12 lines at the entrance.
- The interior walls and windows are decorated with İznik tiles; pomegranate flowers, palmettes and curved branch motifs are seen in blue, green, red and turquoise colors on a white background.
- It is understood from the traces that there are hand-drawn decorations inside the dome, on the pendentives and on the vaults.
