Monuments of the city · Tomb

Kadılar Tomb

The tomb has no inscription of its own. But the fountain beside it does — and that is where the building's date is read.

Late 14th century Iwan-type tomb Gökmedrese neighbourhood

The tomb has no building or date inscription. The fountain built against the tomb, however, does have one: the fountain was commissioned in 1377–78 by Mehmed Bin İmad, kadı (judge) of Amasya.

Learning a building's date from its neighbour — a method often used in archaeology and in history alike.

📜 What do the documents say?

The tomb stands in the Gökmedrese neighbourhood, on Torumtay Street, opposite the Halifet Gazi Tomb.^1, 2

It is a building of brick and dressed stone, built as an iwan type, rectangular in plan and barrel-vaulted. It has no building or repair inscription; but the fountain beside it was built in 1377–1378.^1, 2 The Site Management Plan reads the fountain's inscription and also gives the name of its founder: Mehmed Bin İmad, kadı of Amasya.²

On the basis of its architectural features the building is dated to the late 14th century. It was restored in 2007 by the General Directorate of Foundations.^1, 3

Where does the name come from? Inside are stone cenotaphs belonging to a family of judges (kadı).¹ So the name here is not that of a person but of a profession: Kadılar means ‘the judges’.

Closed on three sides, open on one

An iwan-type tomb means this: the building is not a closed room. It is walled on three sides, and one side is left open to the outside. Here the open side is the north.²

North façade

Open — and dressed stone

The iwan is here. Dressed stone was used on this façade, and it looks more monumental than the others.²

The other three façades

Closed — and rubble stone

Walled; the material is rubble stone.² The face meant to be shown is clear: which way the building looks can be read from its materials.

Inside, the building is barrel-vaulted; on top it has a flat terrace roof. Inside, the floor is earth, and on this earth stand five stone cenotaphs of different sizes; there are five graves in the tomb in all.²

5Stone cenotaphs²

1377–78Date on the inscription of the adjoining fountain^1, 2

2007Restoration by the General Directorate of Foundations^1, 3

That the floor is earth is not a trivial detail. In most tombs the graves are in a closed burial crypt, or the floor is paved. Here the earth of the grave can be seen directly.² This leaves unusually little between the visitor and those who are buried.

💧 The fountain beside it

The tomb's date is read from this fountain, but the fountain itself also has something to tell. Akgül records that in the wall that adjoins the tomb there is a rectangular block whose function cannot be precisely determined. The block bears the meander motif used in the Seljuk period.⁴

What is a meander? A continuous border motif that turns at right angles; it has a long history running from antiquity to the Seljuks. Here it sits embedded in a wall, and no one knows what it was for.⁴

Akgül also adds a note on the fountain's present state: its left wall has been painted the same colour as the house next to it, while the rectangular stone under the arch is yellow and broken; this spoils the overall appearance of the structure.⁴

Three tombs, a handful of steps

The Site Management Plan treats these three buildings as a single “connection point”: the Şadgeldi Paşa Tomb, the Halifet Gazi Tomb and the Kadılar Tomb.² All three are within walking distance of one another. One is an octagonal kümbet on a square base, while two are of the iwan type; so two different ideas of the tomb stand side by side in the same neighbourhood.

→ Şadgeldi Paşa Tomb → Halifet Gazi Tomb

While you are there, look for

Go to the fountain first, the tomb afterwards. The date is written there: 1377–78.^1, 2
The wall where the fountain and the tomb meet. There is a rectangular block with a meander motif there, and no one knows what it is.⁴
Compare the north façade with the others. The north is dressed stone, the others rubble stone.² The difference is plain to see.
Count the cenotaphs inside. Five, each a different size.²
And look at the floor. No paving — earth.²

Key facts

Date: Late 14th century — adjoining fountain 1377-78^1, 2
Fountain commissioned by: Mehmed Bin İmad, kadı of Amasya²
Inscription: The tomb has no inscription of its own^1, 2
Plan: Rectangular, iwan type; open to the north, closed on three sides^1, 2
Roof: Barrel vault inside, flat terrace roof outside^1, 2
Material: North façade dressed stone, the others rubble stone; brick also used^1, 2
Inside: Five stone cenotaphs; earth floor²
Restoration: 2007, General Directorate of Foundations^1, 3
Location: 40.649247, 35.823228 — verified against OpenStreetMap
In the book: Kültürel Miras Boyutuyla Amasya, p. 49

📍 Open on the map

Sources

Kültürel Miras Boyutuyla Amasya (Amasya: Amasya Üniversitesi, BAP Projesi SEB-BAP25-0233, 2026), 49.
Amasya Harşena Dağı ve Pontus Kral Kaya Mezarları Alan Yönetim Planı ve UNESCO Dünya Mirası Başvuru Dosyası (Amasya: Amasya Belediyesi, 2022), 78. — “2.3.2.4. Bağlantı Noktası 4”: the reading of the fountain inscription and Mehmed Bin İmad, kadı of Amasya; the iwan plan, the materials of the façades, the earth floor and the five cenotaphs.
Zeynep Küpra Ketil, Amasya Türbeleri (Konya: Selçuk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Yüksek Lisans Tezi, 2019), 33-34. — The tomb's plan, its roofing and the 2007 restoration.
Öznur Akgül, Tarihi Varlıkların Sürdürülebilir Turizm Açısından İncelenmesi: Amasya Şehri Örneği (Samsun: Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Yüksek Lisans Tezi, 2020), 58. — The Kadılar Fountain: the rectangular block with a meander motif in the wall adjoining the tomb, and the present state of the fountain.

This page has no photograph. The book has no picture of this tomb. A current photograph will be added once it has been taken.