Çelebibağı, in Erciş
Çelebibağı Seljuk Cemetery is in the southeastern part of Erciş’s Çelebibağı neighbourhood. The district’s account emphasises its long history of use and the variety of regional burial forms found together here.
That variety invites a reading beyond a single period label. The cemetery can be considered alongside Erciş Castle and the old settlement as part of the town’s local historical landscape.
Every stone has its own face
Look at the surfaces as well as the height of the stones. Ercan Çalış, scientific adviser to the 2026 project, describes inscriptions recording information about the deceased alongside religious passages.
Making the stones visible again
Anadolu Agency’s report of 30 July 2026 describes excavation and restoration at the cemetery. Specialists were strengthening the ground beneath displaced or partly buried stones and removing lichens from their surfaces. The work aims to conserve the stones and make their inscriptions and motifs legible.
The dated report is not an announcement that restoration has finished. Follow local directions around work areas and do not try to clean or scrape the stones yourself.
Meydan Cemetery, in Ahlat
Ahlat’s Seljuk Meydan Cemetery is in Bitlis province, on the northwestern side of Lake Van. Reaching it is a separate journey from visiting Çelebibağı. Its stones are distinguished by inscriptions, geometric designs and plant motifs.
The Cultural Portal describes stones recording names and sometimes occupations, with craftsmen’s names also appearing on certain surfaces. A gravestone can therefore preserve traces of both the person commemorated and the artisan who made it.
Looking at the stonework
Begin with the whole stone, then notice how lettering and ornament divide its surface. Compare forms rather than rushing to photograph a single detail. Even an inscription you cannot read can communicate through its arrangement and workmanship.
At both sites, keep a respectful distance from graves and avoid leaning on or touching carved surfaces. These are places of remembrance as well as historic works in the open air.
