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Saints and Tombs of Mersin

14 sourced records · 11 verified locations

The atlas holds 14 records for Mersin. Each record's sources and review status are shown on its own page. Breakdown: 6 Saints · 3 Scholar · 3 Companions · 2 Prophets.

Map of Mersin

Records in Mersin

Scholar

Shaykh Hocenti (Khujandi)

A religious scholar-shaykh buried in the domed tomb (kümbet) about 8 m south of the Lâl (Laal) Paşa Mosque in Mut, taking his name from the Central Asian city of Khujand (Hocend). The Arabic inscription on his gravestone describes him as one who 'taught knowledge and virtue,' and a Şeyh Hocenti lodge (zâviye) endowment is documented in Mut. His death date is disputed: 726/1326 per the inscription, 766/1365 per the Kültür Envanteri; his name also varies (Musa/Osman) in the sources — these uncertainties are conveyed transparently. (Sources: Mut District Governorate 'Mut District and Its Historical Sites'; mutilcemiz.net 'Laal Paşa Mosque'; Kültür Envanteri 'Hocenti Oğlu Kümbeti'.)

MersinDied 726 AHView
Prophets

Prophet Seth (Şît)

The maqam attributed to Seth (Şît) — in Islamic tradition the son of Adam and a prophet said to have received scriptures — is one of three tombs adjoining the eastern section of the Tarsus Grand Mosque, beside the maqams of Luqman and Caliph al-Ma'mun. The TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi article on Tarsus notes that Seth's grave is 'believed' to be here, marking this as traditional belief rather than historical certainty; hence it is presented as a 'maqam (grave certainty disputed).' (Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi 'Tarsus'; Wikipedia 'Tarsus Ulu Camii'.)

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Scholar

Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam

A great Islamic scholar and philologist known for his works in hadith, jurisprudence, Qur'anic readings and Arabic (al-Amwāl, Gharīb al-hadīth). He is reported to have served for a time as a judge (qadi) in Tarsus; he died in 224/838-839 in Mecca and was buried there. In Tarsus a grave (maqam) attributed to him stands in the cemetery of the Küçük Minare Mosque; since his actual burial place is Mecca, this is presented as a maqam — grave certainty disputed. (Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi 'Ebû Ubeyd, Kāsım b. Sellâm'; evliyalar.net 'Tarsus' — Küçük Minare Mosque cemetery.)

MersinDied 224 AHView
Prophets

Prophet Daniel (Danyal)

The maqam attributed to Daniel — regarded as a prophet or righteous figure in the People of the Book and Islamic tradition — stands in the Makam (Makām-ı Danyâl) Mosque in central Tarsus. Tradition holds that during the conquest of Tarsus in the era of Caliph Umar a body was found whose signet ring led people to identify it as Daniel's; a mosque was later built over the site. Excavations in 2006-2007 uncovered a deep burial chamber beneath the mosque's ablution area, opened to visitors in 2014. Whether the grave truly belongs to Daniel is disputed — the same claim is made for Susa (Iran), Kirkuk and Samarkand — so it is presented here as a 'maqam (grave certainty disputed).' (Sources: Tarsus District Governorate; TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi 'Tarsus'; Kültür Envanteri.)

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Saint

Luqman the Wise (Lokman Hekim)

The maqam attributed to Luqman — after whom a sura of the Qur'an (Sūrat Luqmān) is named and who is described as having been 'granted wisdom' — is among the tombs adjoining the eastern section of the Tarsus Grand Mosque (Ulu Camii / Câmi-i Nûr). Islamic tradition debates whether he was a prophet or a wise, righteous man; popularly he is regarded as the patron of physicians. The tomb sits alongside the maqams of Seth (Şît) and Caliph al-Ma'mun on the east of the Grand Mosque. Whether the grave truly belongs to Luqman is uncertain, so it is of maqam status. (Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi 'Tarsus'; Tarsus District Governorate; Wikipedia 'Tarsus Ulu Camii' — cross-verified location.)

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Saint

Shaykh Abdullah al-Mencek (Mencek Baba)

A shaykh also known as İmam Kuşeyrîzâde who founded a lodge (zâviye) in Tarsus to serve dervishes migrating from Turkestan to Anatolia. The Mencek (Küçük Tekke) lodge, whose endowment deed was drawn up on 11 Rajab 781 (23 October 1379), for centuries hosted dervishes, ghazis and merchants from Samarkand, Bukhara, Balkh and Khiva. His tomb beside the lodge stands in the Tekke neighborhood of Tarsus, which takes its name from this lodge; his grave was later restored by Naqshbandi sheikhs. (Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi 'Tarsus'; academic studies based on Ottoman archival documents; Uludağ University thesis on the socio-cultural structure of Tarsus.)

MersinDied 781 AHView
Saint

Felahoğlu Nureddin (Muhammed Nureddin)

A commander who fell as a martyr during the conquest of Tarsus from the Armenians. According to tradition he was martyred in the conquest of Tarsus in 761/1359-60 while in the retinue of the Khwarazmian Seyfeddin Timur; his grave is at the Demirkapı locality of the town. The domed tomb over it was built by Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II in 1903. He is popularly visited as a ghazi-martyr saint. (Sources: evliyalar.net 'Tarsus' — Demirkapı tomb; evliyalarveturbeler.com 'Muhammed Nûreddin'.)

MersinDied 761 AHView
Saint

Ali Baba of Khorasan (Dervish Ali Dede)

A dervish-saint of Khorasani origin venerated in Tarsus. According to the sources he died in 1082/1671 in Crete; during the 1924 population exchange his bones were brought to Tarsus and reinterred in his tomb in the Reşadiye neighborhood. The tomb is therefore a relocated (secondary) grave, and this is stated transparently. The tomb stands today and is popularly visited. (Sources: F. Maden, isamveri.org — Tarsus lodges and tombs; DergiPark academic article on the lodges of Tarsus; evliyalar.net 'Horasanlı Ali Baba'.)

MersinDied 1082 AHView
Saint

Sayyid Alaeddin Ali al-Samarqandi

A Sufi Qur'an-commentator and sayyid who trained in Samarkand, deepened in exegesis, jurisprudence and Sufism, and migrated to Anatolia (the Lârende/Karaman region) in the 15th century. He settled for a time in the town of Zeyne (Sütlüce) in Gülnar, occupied with shepherding and spiritual guidance; his death is generally given as 862/1457 (some sources 860/1456). His grave is in his tomb at Zeyne, with his son Zeynel Âbidîn beside him. The single-domed Beylik-period tomb was built in 1529 by Karamanoğlu Kasım Bey. As the grave is also claimed for Çamlıdere/Ankara, the matter is presented neutrally; note also that the TDV entry 'Semerkandî, Alâeddin' refers to a different 12th-century jurist (Abu Bakr al-Samarqandi) and must not be conflated. (Sources: Kültür Portalı 'Zeyne Türbesi'; Mersin Directorate of Culture & Tourism 'Gülnar'; Ministry/Metropolitan inventories.)

MersinDied 862 AHView
Saint

Nure Sufi (Nureddin Bey)

A dervish-Sufi of the Babai tradition, regarded as the ancestor of the Karamanid dynasty. According to TDV sources he is remembered as a disciple in the circle of Baba İlyas; he is said to have died in the mid-13th century (around 1256-1258), with no attested Hijri year on record. His grave is in the Nûre Sûfî Tomb on the Değirmenlik plateau within the bounds of Yalnızcabağ village in Mut, about 55 km from the district center. Although a dynastic ancestor, he is recorded as an evliya for his religious-Sufi identity (Babai dervishhood); this political link is stated transparently. (Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi 'Karamanoğulları'; Mut Municipality 'Nûre Sofi Türbesi'; Kültür Envanteri.)

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Companion

Miqdad ibn Amr (Muğdat Dede)

Also known as 'Miqdad ibn al-Aswad,' one of the earliest companions to embrace Islam in the Meccan period. Sources record that he died in 33/653 at al-Jurf near Medina and was buried in the Baqi' Cemetery in Medina. In the courtyard of the Hz. Mikdâd (Muğdat) Mosque (built 1987-1992) in the Yenişehir district of Mersin there is a maqam attributed to him; although locals believe he was martyred in this region, his actual grave is in Medina, so this is presented transparently as a symbolic maqam — buried in another city. (Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi 'Mikdâd b. Amr'; Mersin Yenişehir District Governorate; KÜRE Encyclopedia.)

MersinDied 33 AHView
Scholar

Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun

Son of Harun al-Rashid and the seventh Abbasid caliph, renowned for his patronage of learning and the translation movement (Bayt al-Hikma). During his campaign against Byzantium he died on 18 Rajab 218 (9 August 833) at a camp near the Bedendûn (Pozantı) water. Per the tradition of keeping caliphs' graves hidden, his body is said to have been brought to Tarsus and buried in the garden of the governor's house, which over time was demolished and enclosed within the expanded Tarsus Grand Mosque; his maqam is today in the mosque's eastern section. Though a political ruler, he is recorded here as a scholar/historical figure for his central role in the history of Islamic learning. (Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi 'Me'mûn'; TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi 'Tarsus'.)

MersinDied 218 AHView
Companion

Makam (Shrine) of Bilâl-i Habeşî

A tomb-shrine in Tarsus built in memory of the Companion Bilal al-Habashi , the first muezzin of the Prophet. It is not his grave; his grave is in Damascus. His full name is Abu Abd Allah Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi . He was born a slave of Abyssinian origin some forty years before the Hijra (c. 581). He embraced Islam through Abu Bakr and was one of the first seven people in Mecca to declare their Islam openly. He became famous as the first to call the adhan , which the Prophet had taught, at his command, in the year 1 (622) or 2 (623) of the Hijra, and he served as the muezzin of the Messenger of God throughout his life. When Umar became caliph he left Medina and took part in the conquest of many cities and districts of Syria; it is related that in Syria, at the caliph's request, he called the adhan once and moved his listeners to tears. In the year 20 (641), in his sixties, he died in Damascus (or in Aleppo or Darayya) and was buried in the cemetery of Bab al-Saghir. His Tomb and Complex — The entry TARSUS lists among the important historic monuments of the city the tomb that the Mamluks had built in memory of Bilal al-Habashi . The entry gives no information on the building's date, its architecture, or any mosque or endowment attached to it. The entry records that Tarsus entered the lands of Islam in the reign of Caliph Umar in the year 16 (637), that it was conquered in 761 (1360) by Sayf al-Din Begtemür al-Khwarazmi, the Mamluk governor of Aleppo, and that it passed definitively under Ottoman rule in 923 (1517).

MersinDied 20 AHView
Companion

Ashâb-ı Kehf (Seven Sleepers) Cave

The Ashâb-ı Kehf (Seven Sleepers) are the young believers in Surah al-Kahf (verses 9-26) who took refuge in a cave and were awakened after sleeping for centuries. The cave in Dedeler village 12 km north of Tarsus is popularly accepted as the site of this story; a mosque was built above it in 1873. It is a faith-tourism site. (Sources: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam 'Tarsus'; Tarsus District Governorate; Kültür Portalı.)

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