Koca Sinan Paşa Tomb

Sinan Paşa served under four sultans and initially left the palace as the Malatya Sanjakbeyi after serving as Chief Taster (Çaşnigirbaşı) to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. He later held governorships in Erzurum and Aleppo.
Under Sultan Selim II, he became Governor of Egypt and then a Kubbealtı Veziri (Minister of the Imperial Council), earning the titles “Conqueror of Yemen” and “Conqueror of Tunis” after bringing these territories into the empire.
During the reign of Sultan Murad III, he was appointed commander of the eastern campaign against Iran and then Grand Vizier in 1580.
Sinan Paşa, who held the post during an era rife with luxury, corruption, and bribery, is considered one of the most powerful Grand Viziers in Ottoman history. Chroniclers of the time blame him for initiating the prolonged war with Austria in 1593, which would trouble the empire for 13 years.
His power struggles with Lala Mustafa Paşa and Ferhad Paşa shaped the political scene of the period and led to uprisings among the sipahi and janissaries, ushering in an era of unrest.

Construction Year: 1595

Ordered by: Koca Sinan Paşa

Architect: Mimar Davut Ağa

Prominent Features:

The tomb has a sixteen-sided exterior and an octagonal interior.
Built of ashlar stone, the entrance features a sloped portico supported by five marble columns with fluted arches resembling scallop shells. Additional columns are placed at the corners.
The façade is dynamic, with rectangular, iron-grilled, pointed-arched windows featuring geometric patterns on the lower level.
The upper portions of the windows are made of two-colored stone, with blind windows placed between plaster-mesh windows. A muqarnas band and a frieze with palmette motifs encircle the structure.
Each side has two levels of windows: rectangular framed on the lower level, and small decorative windows above.
The structure is topped with a pointed dome set on a sixteen-sided drum.
There are no significant decorative elements.
The tomb is accessed through a round-arched marble-framed door. The intended inscription space above the door was left blank.
The interior is similarly unadorned, with the exception of an inscription of verse 53 from Surah az-Zumar in thuluth script on the dome. Other surfaces are adorned with curled branches and floral motifs extending from the dome’s center to its base.
In addition to the sarcophagus of Koca Sinan Paşa, there are two wooden sarcophagi and two marble child tombs, one with an inscription, though their identities are unknown.