The unusual hobby of a tomb photographer

Historian Erhan Afyoncu says İşli can easily give you directions to the tomb of any historically significant person. İşli is a historian who has devoted his life to tombstones. He spent most of his life taking photos of historical tombstones in the Ottoman Empire’s capital cities of Bursa, Edirne and Istanbul. He is considered to be an authority on tombstones by other historians, although he isn’t an academic. İşli has an archive consisting of photos of 65,000 tombstones including a variety of black and white, color and digital photos that are invaluable for historiography. The archive will broaden in time, as İşli continues taking photos of cemeteries.

As a requirement for his job İşli also makes gravestone rubbings, which involves copying inscriptions from tombstones onto parchment paper. In this way, if an ancient tombstone is stolen, broken or lost, it will be possible to build a replacement and transmit the information to future generations. His job means a lot to him, as this job enables him to drop by cemeteries and even spend two hours there; that makes him happy.

Four books on tombstones

İşli has gained a lot from his frequent visits to cemeteries. Using his photography archive he has published four books titled “İstanbul’un Ortası Aksaray” (Aksaray the Midst of Istanbul), “İstanbul’da Sahabe Kabir ve Makamları” (Tombs and Maqams of the Prophet’s Companions), “Yeniçeri Mezar Taşları” (Tombstones of the Janissaries) and “Osmanlı Serpuşları” (Ottoman Headgear). His books are particularly valuable because there are no other scientific studies that have been conducted on these topics. İşli has more than 15 books waiting to be published and has a very special personal collection of books on tombstones.

‘I got used to going to cemeteries in secondary school’

İşli’s interest in tombs began many years ago. İşli was born in Cerrahpaşa, a neighborhood full of historic buildings, and he found the tombstones in the Cerrahpaşa Cemetery very attractive and pretty. One day he was given a camera by a friend of one of his family members. He began taking photos of the tombstones that he had already been admiring.

Due to his penchant for tombstones, İşli took 13 years to complete his secondary and high school education -- it normally takes six years. He mostly preferred to wander around İstanbul and visit the historical peninsula to take photos instead of going to school. He said that he definitely dropped by one cemetery every day.

Although his education seemed to be unsuccessful, wandering around Istanbul’s cemeteries is what caused İşli’s archive to come into existence.

    Fazıl Ayanoğlu convinced İşli to work on tombstones professionally. Ayanoğlu is one of the few people who worked on tombstones in the 1950s. Ayanoğlu sought out İşli when a friend of Ayanoğlu’s family told him about İşli. That is how the rest of his survey of cemeteries was shaped.

İşli never gave up his interest in tombstones, even though it is his daily occupation. When Ayanoğlu passed away, the General Directorate of Foundations hired İşli to replace him. İşli studied history at Istanbul University.

‘What is taking place at the Yahya Efendi Cemetery is murder, not restoration’

As a person who has spent his life in cemeteries, İşli is very upset about the removal of historical cemeteries at Edirnekapı, where Fatih the Conqueror and his soldiers were buried. These cemeteries are being removed in order to build the Golden Horn Bridge. According to İşli, the same murder is taking place at Yahya Efendi Cemetery today. He says: “In the course of restoration at the Yahya Efendi Cemetery the construction company has been using bulldozers, and they are removing tombstones together with the soil. I took some photos and they were published in the Vakit daily. Unfortunately there has been no result.”

Yahya Efendi Cemetery is where İşli first started taking professional photos. Although his mother’s tomb is in that cemetery, he isn’t allowed to visit it today because he made public the destruction that is taking place there. He is very worried that soon no Ottoman cemeteries will be left.

İşli is also concerned about discovering the lost tombs of important people who played significant roles in Ottoman cultural and intellectual life. Once he discovered the tomb of Mehmet Süreya, the author of “Sicil-i Osmani.” This book is an encyclopedia that lists the names of all Ottoman intellectuals from the early 14th century to the late 19th century, at which time it was published. He loves cemeteries and he is not afraid of death. When asked where he wants to be buried, he answers that it doesn’t matter. He is only concerned with what will happen to his archive after he dies and he just wishes to use his archive to broaden his knowledge while he is alive.