Ottoman poet ‘may be buried’ in Karaman

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

The 17th century grave was unearthed during excavations in the garden of a mosque in Karaman.

It has been discovered that the grave of 17th century Ottoman poet Karacaoğlan might be in the central Anatolian province of Karaman. During restoration works in the garden of a mosque in the city’s Sarıveliler neighborhood, a grave and tombstone with the inscribed “Karacaoğlan’ın ruhuna Fatiha” (Fatiha to Karacaoğla’s soul) in Ottoman were found.

Restoration started some 1.5 years ago in the garden of the Hacı Salih Mosque and during which, the tombstone was unearthed a month ago. The grave was also found after cleaning the area of the tombstone. The writing on the tombstone was deciphered by Professor Mehmet Akgül.

Chronological examinations on the tombstone showed it dated back to 1600’s. There is little known about the life of the famous poet, but it is known that he was born in 1606 and died in 1679 or 1689. The fact that Karacaoğlan has a poem on Barçın Tableland, which is located in the same neighborhood, supports the claims that the poet lived in this region and that it is his tombstone.

The locals of the region also believe Karacaoğlan lived there and have been organizing traditional Karacaoğlan festivities for the last seven years.

Works have been continuing on the grave and tombstone by academics, said Sarıveliler Mayor Hayri Samur. “If it is confirmed, we will build a shrine for Karacaoğlan here. So far we have not had any concrete information about his living in our region, but locals believe it. I hope this tombstone will shed light on this situation,” he said.