Monuments of the city · Tomb

Kurtboğan Tomb

Its name comes from a legend, and that legend is still told. But this tomb's documented story is at least as eventful.

15th century Şeyh Hamza Hızır Paşa neighbourhood

The man who lies in this tomb is the father of Akşemseddin. The book names him Pir Şerafettin Hamza and writes that he died in 1457.¹ Şen, however, gives his name as Hamza Şami bin Mehmet: he was from Damascus (Şam), and his lineage goes back to Abu Bakr.²

Two different namings of the same person. We give both.

📜 What do the documents say?

The tomb is in central Amasya, in the Hızır Paşa neighbourhood, on İstasyon Avenue, next to the Kurtboğan Mosque.^1, 2 It is one of the most visited tombs in Amasya.^1, 2

It has no inscription. Because there is no building inscription on it, its exact date of construction is not known.^1, 2

But there is a clue: Mustafa Vazıh Efendi states that Atik Ali Paşa had a dome built over the Kurtboğan saint.² So at some point the building gained a dome to cover it — and the man who had it built was no ordinary person.

A grand vizier was buried here

According to Abdizade's account, Atik Ali Paşa (Hadım Ali Paşa) was sent to Amasya while he was Grand Vizier (Vezir-i Azam), as Commander for Anatolia (Anadolu Serdarı), because of the Şahkulu rebellion. In the battle against Şahkulu's army near Bozok (Yozgat) the army he commanded was defeated; he himself was brought to Amasya wounded and died here. Afterwards he was buried in the Kurtboğan Tomb.²

Think about it: the man in the highest office of the state goes off to put down a rebellion, is defeated, is brought back wounded and is buried in a saint's tomb. And it is said that he was the one who had the dome built, too.² Knowing who has touched a building changes the way you look at it.

What happened to the building

The tomb was built in the baldachin manner: a covering resting on four square stone piers, with arches open on all four sides.²

1939 Earthquake. The tomb's dome collapses. It is very probable that a flattened concrete dome was later built in its place.²
2012 The Amasya Museum Directorate excavates. The rectangular concrete grave structure in the middle is removed, and about a metre below it the original cenotaph is uncovered.²
2016 The dome is rebuilt — this time true to the original, in brick.²

Seventy-seven years. That is how long it took for the dome that fell in 1939 to regain its original form.² In between, what visitors saw was a concrete dome and a concrete grave — while the original cenotaph lay a metre below, unseen.

🗣️ What do the people say?

This is where the tomb's name comes from. The narrative is recorded in two separate sources: Mustafa Vazıh Efendi reported it in his work in the 19th century,² and Tuğrul Balaban collected it from the people in 2014.³ Both tell the same story.

Where the tomb stands there was a cemetery, and wolves, it is said, used to drag the newly dead out of their graves and eat them.³
On the night Şeyh Hamza died and was laid in his grave, a wolf comes and tries to drag the body out of the grave.^2, 3
A hand reaches out of the grave, seizes the wolf by the throat and strangles it.^2, 3
After this, the people give the saint, whose name was Şeyh Hamza, the name “Kurtboğan” — ‘Wolf-Strangler’.³
They perform the ablution on the hand; once the ablution is done, the hand draws back into the grave.³

There is a second narrative too. In Balaban's collection it is told that Kurtboğan went to Cyprus in time of war and became friends with someone there. When the man asked him who he was, he said, “My name is Kurtboğan; ask anyone in Amasya and they will show you where I am.” After the war the man came to Amasya and asked for Kurtboğan, and when he said he was his comrade-in-arms, people showed him the tomb and laughed. The man went into the tomb and told the people, “Close the door and go”; inside, he met Kurtboğan, and Kurtboğan gave him a feast.³

Why does this section stand apart? The information above about the dome, the excavation and the burial rests on documents. What is here is narrative — but narrative with a record, written down by two different researchers in two different centuries.^2, 3 This page does not mix the two; nor does it belittle either.

While you are there, look for

The four piers and the arches. This is the baldachin manner: not a closed room, but a covering standing on legs.²
The brick of the dome. It was rebuilt true to the original in 2016.² The dome you see is new, but its form is old.
The cenotaph. Until 2012 there was a concrete grave on top of it; what you see now is the original cenotaph, brought to light from a metre down.²
The mosque beside it. The tomb stands next to it.^1, 2
And think about this too: a grand vizier was buried here, its name came from a legend, an earthquake brought down its dome. A small building that carries five hundred years of the city.

Key facts

Date: 15th century — exact date of construction unknown^1, 2
Who lies here: The father of Akşemseddin — in the book Pir Şerafettin Hamza (d. 1457)¹, in Şen Hamza Şami bin Mehmet²
Lineage: From Damascus; his lineage is said to go back to Abu Bakr²
Inscription: None^1, 2
Plan: Baldachin: a dome on four square stone piers, arched on all four sides²
Dome: Fell in the 1939 earthquake; rebuilt true to the original in brick in 2016²
Excavation: 2012, Amasya Museum Directorate — the original cenotaph found 1 m down²
Also: The grand vizier Atik Ali Paşa was buried here²
Location: 40.6542168, 35.813591 — verified from an external source
In the book: Kültürel Miras Boyutuyla Amasya, p. 50

📍 Open on the map

Sources

Kültürel Miras Boyutuyla Amasya (Amasya: Amasya Üniversitesi, BAP Projesi SEB-BAP25-0233, 2026), 50.
Ayşegül Şen, Amasya Şehir Merkezindeki Dinî Ziyaret Yerleri (Yüksek Lisans Tezi, 2019), 61-62. — “3.12. Kurtboğan Türbesi (Şeyh Hamza Türbesi)”: his name and lineage, the absence of an inscription, Mustafa Vazıh Efendi's record of the dome, Atik Ali Paşa's Şahkulu campaign and his burial here, the baldachin plan, the 1939 earthquake, the 2012 excavation and the 2016 repair; the wolf hagiography reported from Vazıh Efendi.
Tuğrul Balaban, Amasya Efsane, Menkabe ve Memoratları (Amasya: Amasya Valiliği, 2014), 97. — The motif sequences of the narratives “76. Kurtboğan (I)” and “77. Kurtboğan (II)”.

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