The Merkezefendi Cemetery () is a burial ground situated in Merkezefendi neighborhood of

Zeytinburnu Zeytinburnu (literally, ''Olive Cape'') is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 12 km2, and its population is 292,616 (2022). It is a working-class area on the European side of Istanbul, T ...

district on the European part of

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The neighborhood and the cemetery are named after Merkez Efendi, an Ottoman

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

and

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

(1463–1552). Many renowned intellectuals, writers and artists rest in this old cemetery covering an area of . The cemetery was established in the 16th century with the construction of the tomb of Merkez Efendi at this location. It was extended in the 1950s, and another cemetery, the Kozlu Cemetery was established away. The cemetery was fully renovated in 2007. At the time of the burial of former Prime Minister

Necmettin Erbakan Necmettin Erbakan (29 October 1926 – 27 February 2011) was a Turkish politician and political theorist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Turkey from 1996 to 1997. He was pressured by the military to step down as prime minister and was la ...

in 2011, a comprehensive maintenance work was carried out at the cemetery. Currently, burials are allowed only for the members of families with existing graves.

Notable burials

Listed in order of death year: * Abdullah Cevdet (1869–1932) writer,

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, translator, radical free-thinker and an ideologist of the Young Turks * Rıza Nur (1879–1942) politician, writer * Adnan Adıvar (1882–1955) physician, politician, writer *

Sadettin Kaynak Sadettin Kaynak (1895 – 3 February 1961) was a prominent composer of Turkish classical music. Biography Born in Istanbul, he became a hafiz at a young age. He lost his father early in his youth. He completed his music education at the Ist ...

(1895–1961)

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, musician * Halide Edip Adıvar (1884–1964) novelist, feminist politician * Hamdullah Suphi Tanrıöver (1885–1966), poet and politician * Sabahattin Eyüboğlu (1908–1973) translator, essayist, film producer * Samiha Ayverdi (1905–1993) novelist,

* Halil Hâlid (1869–1931) Turkish writer * Mualla Eyüboğlu (1919–2009)

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, restorer *

(1926–2011) engineer, politician, former prime minister * Toktamış Ateş (1944–2013) academician, writer * Neşe Aybey (1930-2015) Miniaturist, Academic

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merkezefendi Cemetery Cemeteries in Istanbul Sunni cemeteries Zeytinburnu Cemeteries established in the 16th century