CEMETERY

The hazire of Murad al-Bukhari Lodge is more than a burial ground—it is a living archive in stone. Each gravestone reflects a personal story, but also a wider tradition: scholarship, public service, spiritual guidance, and community life in Ottoman Istanbul. Within this quiet garden, visitors encounter the memory of sheikhs of the Lodge, members of the learned class, historians and officials, and figures of art and music, all connected—directly or indirectly—to this place.

As you walk through the hazire, you will notice that gravestones often include titles and offices (such as kazasker, şeyhülislâm, fetva emini), as well as dates given in the Hijri calendar—sometimes alongside a Gregorian equivalent. These details help us understand how the Lodge stood within a broader social landscape, welcoming many kinds of visitors, students, and communities across generations.

Below are selected examples from the hazire’s gravestones (presented as a small guide rather than a complete catalogue):

  • Ser-zağar Abdülkerim Ağa (from the Janissary aghas) — 1651–1652 (H. 1062)
  • Rumeli Kazaskeri Dâmad-zâde Ahmed Efendi — 1741–1742 (H. 1154)
  • Vak‘a-nüvis İzzî Efendi — 1754–1755 (H. 1168)
  • Şeyh Ali — 1759–1760 (H. 1173)
  • Şeyh Mustafa — 1762–1763 (H. 1176)
  • Fetva Emini Ebubekir Efendi — 1765–1766 (H. 1179)
  • Şeyhülislam Veliyyüddin Efendi — 1768–1769 (H. 1182)
  • Şeyh Yahya Efendi (son of Şeyh Ali) — 1778–1779 (H. 1192)
  • Şeyh el-Hâc Muhammed Efendi (sheikhs of Murad al-Bukhari Lodge) — 10 Rabîulevvel 1208 / 16 October 1793
  • Ayşe Molla — 17 Cemâziyelâhir 1210 / 29 December 1795
  • Veliyyüddin Efendi-zâde Muhammed Emin Efendi (Rumeli Kazasker) — 23 Şaban 1220 / 16 November 1805
  • Hüseyin el-Hisârî (Lodge sheikh; master of Classical Turkish Music) — 1820–1821 (H. 1236)
  • Hattat Mahmud Celâleddin Efendi — 1829–1830 (H. 1245)
  • Aselî-zâde eş-Şeyh Muhammed Sa‘dî Efendi — 11 Zilhicce 1248 / 1 May 1833
  • Mümtaz Kalfa — 15 Rabîulevvel 22 July 1834 (H. 1250)
  • Ohrili Hafız Halil Efendi (Murad Molla Lodge official; imam of Beyceğiz) — 25 Cemâziyelevvel 1252 / 7 September 1836
  • Seyyid Muhammed Gedûsî Efendi (Anatolian kazasker; fetva emini) — 27 Ramazan 1253 / 25 December 1837
  • Şeyh Muhammed Es‘ad Efendi — 13 Muharrem 1260 / 3 February 1844
  • Şeyh Feyzullah Efendi (Mesnevihân; Reisü’l-kurrâ) — 25 Cemâziyelevvel 1284 / 24 September 1867
  • Muhammed Arif Efendi (From Bayburt; sheikh of Küçükpiyâle Lodge in Kasımpaşa) — 26 Cemâziyelevvel 1307 / 18 January 1890
  • Şeyh Nuri Efendi — 1904–1905 (H. 1322)