Mehmed Abdürrefi Efendi

Mehmed Abdürrefi Efendi was born in 1837 in Yenişehir-i Fener, today known as Larissa in Greece, and was the son of Şişman Mustafa Ağa.

Mehmed Abdürrefi Efendi served as governor of Preveza sanjak, a region that held a diplomatically and administratively sensitive position in Ottoman provincial administration because of its location around the Adriatic and the Greek frontier.

Alongside his state service, Mehmed Abdürrefi Efendi was remembered for his literary and poetic personality. He died on Monday, 20 Dhu al-Qa‘da 1318 / 26 February 1316 in the Rumi calendar (11 March 1901), and was buried in the Fatih Mosque Cemetery.

The grave inscription of Mehmed Abdürrefi Efendi was written by Filibeli Bakkal Ahmed Ârif Efendi. Known for his sülüs and naskh scripts, Bakkal Ârif Efendi received this nickname because of the grocery shop he opened in Saraçhanebaşı after migrating from Filibe to Istanbul, and he signed many gravestone inscriptions in Istanbul.