Turabi Baba Türbesi

Turabi Baba Türbesi stands in Kasımpaşa, a neighbourhood of Beyoğlu on the shore of the Haliç in Istanbul. The tomb dates from the nineteenth century and honours Mehmet Turabi Efendi, a respected figure of the Kadiri Sufi order. You can pick it out by its rectangular plan, flat roof and walls of neatly arranged brick.

The façade facing the Haliç carries a fountain, flanked by three arched windows on each side. Above the fountain, a plaque set by Admiral Şükrü Pasha in 1889 marks the restoration. The graves inside hold Mustafa Ağa and twelve others, among them several prominent figures of the same order.

Time has taken the tekke, the Sufi lodge that once stood beside the tomb. The building itself remains well preserved, its brick front still turned toward the water. Inside, old ship masts and iron rails from the shipyard carry the ceiling above the graves.