Examples from Datça-Cumalı Gravestones
Located in the southwest of Anatolia, the peninsula where Datça is located in Muğla Province has a mountainous geography. The region, which has hosted many civilisations from ancient times to the present day, is mainly known for its tourism sector and the agriculture of cultivating olive and almond trees. If people need places for finding shelter and protection to continue their lives in this world, it is thought that they need such places for the next world with the same feelings after death. For this reason, they mark their final locations by placing identifying stones at the head and foot parts of their graves. In this work, the gravestones in the cemetery of Cumalı village of Datça district are examined. In total, twenty-six samples of graves in an eligible and decipherable condition are reviewed. Eleven of the headstones analysed belong to men and fifteen to women. Five of the footstones belong to men’s graves and nine to women’s graves. These samples identified in the field study are grouped as male and female headstones and footstones and are listed chronologically in catalogues. The inscriptions on the stones were read on the spot, and the people to whom they belonged were determined. Headstones and footstones are compared according to their shapes and ornaments. The study aims to reveal how long the people in the region have existed in that geography and to hand down these historical documents that are title deeds to future generations.
Datça-Cumalı Mezar Taşlarından Örnekler
Anadolu’nun güneybatısında yer alan Muğla İl’ine bağlı Datça’nın bulunduğu yarımada dağlık bir coğrafyaya sahiptir. Antik çağdan günümüze çok sayıda uygarlıklara ev sahipliği yapan bölge daha çok zeytin, badem tarımı ve turizm sektörü ile tanınmaktadır. İnsanlar yaşadıkları bu dünya da yaşamlarını devam ettirmek için barınma ve korunma gibi mekanlara ihtiyaç duyuyorlarsa öldükten sonra da aynı duygularla öteki dünya için de böyle yerlere ihtiyaç duydukları düşünülmektedir. Bu nedenle bir mezar ve mezarın baş ve ayak kısımlarına belirleyici taşlar koyarak yerlerini belli etmişlerdir. Bu çalışmada da Datça ilçesine bağlı Cumalı köyü mezarlığında yer alan mezar taşları incelenmiştir. Toplamda nitelikli ve okunabilir durumda yirmi altı adet örnek ele alınmıştır. Bu örneklerden on bir adedi erkek, on beş adedi ise kadın mezarların ait baş taşıdır. Ayak taşlarının beşi erkek, dokuz adedinin ise kadınlara ait olduğu görülmüştür. Saha çalışmasında tespit edilen bu örnekler erkek ve kadın baş ve ayak taşları şeklinde gruplandırılmış olup kronolojik olarak kataloglar halinde sıralanmıştır. Taşlar üzerinde yer alan kitabe metinleri yerinde okunmuş ve kimlere ait oldukları belirlenmiştir. Baş ve ayak taşları biçimlerine ve süslemelerine göre karşılaştırılması yapılmıştır. Çalışma bölgedeki yaşayan insanların ne zamandan beri o coğrafyada var olduklarını göstermesi ve tapu niteliği taşıyan bu eserlerin gelecek nesillere aktarılması amaçlanmıştır.
Datça, located in the southwest of Anatolia, extends as a peninsula and has a mountainous geography. The tourism sector has come to the forefront in recent years in the region where agriculture, mostly on cultivating olive and almond trees, has been practised.
The most important settlement of the region, which has hosted different civilisations from ancient times to the present day, is the ancient city of Knidos. Knidos is strategically located on the Bozburun peninsula, where the Aegean and the Mediterranean Sea intersect. It was a commercially, culturally and geopolitically significant city in ancient times. Archaeological excavations and research in Knidos attracted the attention of Western researchers from the 18th century, and the first excavations were carried out by Sir Charles Newton in 1858. Today, archaeological excavations are continued by scientists.
The arrival of the Turks to the region was initiated by the uç beys of the Anatolian Seljuks, and a state was established in the region by the name of the Beylik of Menteşeoğlu. The Datça Reşadiye Mosque in Muğla, which is mainly known for the works of the Beylik of Menteşe, draws attention as a significant structure from this period. The grave tradition of the Turks was continued in the vicinity of Muğla as in all geographies where they ruled. Gravestones belonging to the Beylik of Menteşe and Ottoman period in the hazîre, fenced cemeteries, of various mosques and independent cemeteries have been studied and published by different researchers.
Datça and its surroundings, located in the southwest of Anatolia, have been home to different civilisations from ancient times to the present day. The region, primarily known for the ancient city of Knidos, is home to various works of Turkish culture and art from the period of the Beylik of Menteşe.
The tradition of burial and funeral in Turkish culture is continued with gravestones in the cemeteries in the region. Twenty-six gravestones that we identified in the cemetery of Cumalı village of Datça district, which is the basis of our study, are examined within this framework. It was determined that these specific stones are mostly headstones. The gravestones we examined as ‘Cumalı gravestones’ are discussed in detail and evaluated within the scientific methods and techniques in the field of art history.
The gravestones in Cumalı cemetery are generally made of stone and marble. The analysed graves are grouped into four different types. These are analysed as framed, high-framed, earthen graves and indeterminate ones. The graves that are generally framed are surrounded by block stones. The forms of the gravestones are vertically rectangular and horizontally cross-sectioned with serpuş, the shape and design on the top of the Ottoman headstones. Six of these graves belong to women and six to men. In addition, there are five graves determined to have missing or fallen serpuş.
The inscription sections on the main frame of the gravestones were created using stone carving techniques. On the pediment part, serlevha, the heading, is usually enclosed in a cartouche, and the surface of the main body consists of requests to people, requests to God, status, profession, names and nicknames, ancestry, Fâtiha and finally, the date of death.
Eleven of the headstones analysed belong to men and fifteen to women. Six of the stones belonging to men have sarık, a form of turban, carved on stone; three of them have fallen off and one of them has a triangular-shaped top and the other one has a flat top. Of the fifteen headstones belonging to women, six have serpuş carved as highcollar hotoz, a traditional headdress. Two have fallen off, four have triangular tops, two have sliced tops and one has a floral top.
There are floral ornaments on the headstones and footstones of the gravestones. The motifs used are generally acanthus/thistle on the top and tree of life on the pediments of the headstones of the graves belonging to women, while cypress motifs are used on the footstones of the graves belonging to men. In addition, cypress motifs are used on the footstones of the two women’s and men’s graves. The techniques of embossing and engraving were preferred in the motif-making process.
The earliest of the twenty-six samples of gravestones examined in the Cumalı cemetery belongs to Rahime kadın, dating back to the late 18th century (1794 AD). The latest is the tombstone belonging to Aişe kadın, dated to the early 20th century (1912 AD).
In conclusion, the gravestones in Cumalı cemetery are historical documents that allow us to establish a connection between the past and the future, and it is our greatest wish that they are carefully preserved and maintained.
In this work, the gravestones in the cemetery of Cumalı village of Datça district are examined. The stones are discussed in detail as headstones and footstones and are listed chronologically. In addition, the types of headstones were grouped as the gravestones of women and men. The inscriptions on the headstones are analysed and the owners of the tombs are disclosed. Headstones and footstones are compared according to their shapes and ornaments. The study aims to reveal how long people in the region have existed.
