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The Seljuk Cemetery of Ahlat
The largest Turkic-Islamic cemetery in the world, on the shore of Lake Van: thousands of carved tombstones form a museum of Seljuk stonework.
After the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 Ahlat became one of the Turkic cities of Anatolia, and in the 12th-13th centuries it was the centre of the Shah-Armen beylik. The town's Meydanlık cemetery holds thousands of tombstones from the 12th to the 15th centuries.
The tombstones are carved from reddish volcanic stone, some of them 3-4 metres tall, and are covered with geometric patterns, plant motifs, Arabic inscriptions and rumi ornament. Seljuk tomb towers with conical roofs, such as the Ulu Kümbet and the Bayındır Kümbet, also stand here.
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Updated: November 12, 2026