OTTOMAN EMPIRE-AN EMPIRE RULED OVER THREE CONTINENTS
The Ottoman gravestones ,which spread over three continents in the world, are the main cultural heritage not only in Turkey but also in European countries to give detailed information about the history today. They are also the illimunating written archive documents of some former Ottoman states in Balcan countries reflecting the historical, social, economical and sociological events in Ottoman period more than six hundred years. The Ottoman gravestones are accepted as the stone libraries that can be learnt a lot of information from the ephitaphs, symbols, figures and marks. For instance, we can learn the types of occupations in Ottoman periods from tombstone headgears whom they were worn and we can learn the meaning of ephitaps from gravestones what they were in Ottoman society. Ottoman people , who understood the particular grasp of the intricacies of Islam's message in a good way with its institutions, traditions and usages in practice, gave the big importance in the cemeteries and graveyards. Ottomans revealed the objects that respond to the needs of the people as the works of art in the most beautiful way. In other words, Ottoman art was usually functional. Gravestones , which give the most valuable information about the past as being explored, are the artworks. Ottomans installed the cemeteries and graveyards inside the towns next to the schools, bazaars, lodges, backyards of the mosques as reminding the death everyday in life with the most beautiful expressions on and they tried to prevent the ambition of the world with the most beautiful artworks. Ottoman gravestones are the excellent preachers which begin with Allah as the only creator, continue with Koranic verses and Hadiths, express the identity of death person in the grave, give advices to the visitors, the date of death and ends with blessing. So the Ottoman cemeteries and graveyards are located in downtowns. The main aim is to remind the death always and the temporary of the world. The death people need only the blessing so the passers-by or the visitors send their blessing to the death in graves both earning reward and not forgetting the death. How could you remember the death ifyou didn’t pass by a cemetery everyday ? For this reason the Ottoman gravestones were placed on the pathways, on the roads of the bazaars, backyards of the lodges and the mosques. Ottoman people were supposed to go to the mosques five times a day so they used to pray five times to their dead relatives and ancestors. Ottoman Turks had always lived with their deaths so there is a common word in Turkey that the foreing guests say “ Turks live always with their death people. “ Ottoman gravestones can be divided in four main categories ;
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