Doğancı Ahmed Paşa Tomb
About the Person:
- Doğancı Ahmet Paşa was a distinguished statesman educated in the Enderun School of the Ottoman palace. He served in various beylerbeyliks (provincial governorships), as well as in the roles of mirahur (master of the stables) and governor.
- He served closely with Sultan Selim II and Sultan Murad III as their personal chamberlain (hasnedim), and became known for his fondness for hunting, earning him the epithet ‘Doğancı’ (Falconer).
- Descended from the Candaroğulları lineage, Paşa also commissioned charitable works in Kayseri and Düzce.
About the Tomb:
Construction Year: 1584
Ordered by: Doğancı Ahmet Paşa
Architect: Mimar Sinan
Prominent Features:
- The tomb is built entirely of ashlar (cut stone), with a single dome and an octagonal plan
- Except for the entrance façade, the other seven sides are symmetrically designed in classical style and are illuminated with two rows of windows.
- The entrance door features a red-and-white marble arch and bears a four-line marble inscription dated 1584.
- The interior contains four graves: two marble sarcophagi and two wooden coffins, all belonging to Ahmet Paşa and his family.
- The tomb is surrounded by a cemetery containing gravestones of notable figures from the period.
- Adjacent to this tomb once stood a second, square-planned tomb with six columns and a dome, belonging to Minister of Justice Hüseyin Rıza Paşa. This structure was not restored and has since collapsed.
- In historical sources such as the *Seyahatname* of Evliya Çelebi and *Tezkiretü’l-Ebniye*, the tomb is referred to as ‘Hacı Paşa Türbesi’ or ‘Hacı Paşa Darü’l-kurrası’.
