The Çelebizâde Family Chapel—comprising a total of eight gravestones located in the Edirnekapı Mısır Tarlası Cemetery and dating back to the 19th century—belonging to the Çelebizâde family of Sarajevo, has been restored by İBB Miras. The eight gravestones in this section are: 1. Çelebizâde el-Hac Abdullah Efendi (son of Hacı Bayram Ağa, an immigrant from Sarajevo) 2. Sema Hanım (wife of the Bosnian merchant Çelebizâde İbrahim Edhem Efendi) 3. Nevriye Hanım (wife of Abdullah Efendi / daughter of Derviş Ağa from the Rıdvanbegovi family of İstolçe) 4. Hayriye Hanım (daughter of Abdullah Efendi)⁵. Çelebizâde Ömer Derviş (refugee from Bosnasaray—the inscription is partially illegible)⁶. Ömer from the town of Zenica (son of Mustafa—from the Sanjak of Bosnia)⁷. Ahmed Cemil Efendi (son of Çelebizâde Hacı Abdi Ağa of Sarajevo) 8. Süleyman Efendi (son of Çelebizâde Hacı Abdullah Ağa, a refugee from Bosnia).
On May 31, 2010, the Mavi Marmara, along with five other ships, was attacked by Israeli soldiers in international waters while delivering humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, which was under a blockade. Nine people were killed on the ship, and more than 50 activists were injured. The graves of Cevdet Kılıçlar and Necdet Yıldırım, volunteers with the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation who were among those killed, are also located here.
The transcription of the tombstone inscriptions of Lieutenant Colonel Halid Bey and others was done by Muhammet Erdi Gökyar.
Lieutenant Colonel Halid Bey’s Tombstone Inscription:
Alas
, how tragic that Lieutenant Colonel Halid Bey has passed away;
his departure has become a lament on everyone’s lips.
Alas, within three days he surrendered his soul;
men and women alike wailed and wept at his passing.
May the sun at its zenith illuminate his grave with forgiveness;
may the Lord of Bounties bring joy to his soul with His mercy.
They inscribed the date with tears, a gem of their essence,
May Khalid Bey rest in the Garden of Eden
. A Fatiha for the soul of Major
Khalid Bey, who passed away while serving as an official
in the Fifth Branch of the General Staff.
Year H.1312 (M.1894/1895)
Ali Sherif Pasha Tombstone Inscription:
“He
is the Ever-Living.” A Fatiha for the soul of the
late Hafiz
Ali Sherif Pasha, who served
at the General Staff Photographic
Office and was a member of the Infantry Division.
On the 11th of Muharram, in the year H. 1325 (M. February 24, 1907)
Mehemmed Salih Molla Tombstone Inscription:
Mashallah
, Hüve’l-Baki
. A Fatiha for the soul of
the late
Sayyid
Mehemmed Salih Molla, son of Sayyid Süleyman
Ağa, may he rest in paradise.
Year H. 1220 (M. 1805/1806)
The transcription of the inscriptions on some of the gravestones was done by Furkan Yiğit Gürleyik on September 13, 2026.
Hacı Hüseyin Tombstone Inscription:
In the name of Allah
, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Allah, exalted and glorified
be He. May mercy be upon all believing men and women
of the House of Osman, Sayyid …..
Hacı Hüseyin ……
May mercy be upon him? By the virtue of Al-Fatiha
. Year 1295? H.
……
Gravestone Inscription of İsmail bin Mehmed Tayyib:
He is the Ever-Living
. O soul, coming and going from this world as a lesson…
The time will come when you, too, will come to this city
; whoever comes here remains alone and solitary
, even if they are the ruler of the world
. Here there is no wealth, no riches, no crown, no throne
—unless one possesses
asceticism and piety. The late and-forgiven, Hajj
Ismail bin Mehmed Tayyib
. For his soul, recite the Fatiha
. Year 1265, on the 16th of Zilhicce
Gravestone of El-Hajj Ismail Dede, of the Tarık-i Ali Order of the Mevlevi dervishes
To God
belongs the judgment. Ah… look at me as a lesson…
I recite the Fatiha for the soul of the late and forgiven
Hajj Ismail Dede
Efendi, of the Noble Path of the
Mevlevi Poor, who was in need of the mercy of
his Lord, the Forgiving One—Recite the Fatiha
. Year 1266
, on the 21st of Rajab
Gravestone of Ibrahim Aga, Kethuda of the Sipahi Ocağı
He is the Creator, the Everlasting
. For the soul of the late and forgiven
El-muhtâcu ilâ rahmeti Rabbihi'
l-Ğafûr, former Kethuda of the Sipahi
Ocağı, Ibrahim
Ağa—May Allah the Exalted be pleased
with him. The Fatiha
. Year 1202 H. (Hijri)
On the 11th of Ra’d (Rabi’ al-Awwal)
Gravestone of El-Hajj Osman Efendi, Deputy Treasurer of the Qadi al-Askar
He is the Ever-Living
. For the soul of the late
, virtuous Mustafa
Edib Efendi, former Qadi-asker of
Rumeli, and his deputy
El-Hajj Osman Efendi, a distinguished
member of the judiciary. May the Fatiha be recited for
his soul. Year 1246
, on the 3rd of Sha’ban
Gravestone of Mehemmed Beşe of the Twenty-Seventh Division
For
the soul of the late and forgiven Mehemmed
Beşe of the 27th
Division, Chief Confectioner at
the Pasha’s Gate, may he rest in the mercy of his Forgiving Lord
. El-Fâtihâ, year 1208
, on the 15th of Safer (Safer)
(27th Division, Remzi)
Gravestone of Mehemmed Esad Sabri Efendi
He is the Ever-Living, Who Never Dies
, a devotee of the Noble Naqshbandi
Order and a member
of the Imperial Divan’s court officials, a Nizamiyya
………… while serving as the caliph of the “Mighty
One of
the Abode of Eternity,” Muhammad? He is the noble
, the poor one, the late and forgiven—Seyyid Mehemmed
Es’ad Sabrî Efendi, and for the souls of all
the People of Faith, recite Al-Fatiha
. Year 1273
, on the 25th of Zilhicce
Gravestone of Kalfa Ibrahim Efendi, one of the Caliphs of the Cebeci Ocağı
For the soul of the late and forgiven
Kalfa İbrahim Efendi
, one of the Halifes
of the Cebeci Ocağı, recite al-Fātihah
. Year 1141
, the first day of Safar
Gravestone of Es-Sayyid Arif Ahmed, Judge of Tuzla
Grant me forgiveness, O Lord of Yazdan
, by the right of the light of the Great Throne—of the Qur’an
. May the brothers
who come to visit my grave bestow
a Fātiha upon my soul. From among the distinguished judges, Süleymân
Efendi’s son, the Qadi of Tuzla, Es-Seyyid Arif
Ahmed… May a Fatiha
be recited for his soul. Year 1230
…….
Barber Mehemmed Ağa’s Tombstone
He is the Ever-Living
, the Ever-Enduring. The brother
of Ali
Aga, the head of the coin miners, the late Barber Mehmed Aga
of Kuru Çeşme
[…………]
