In the town itself there is this couple of türbes or tombs. They are called the "twin türbe", and one of them dates to 1279. It was built for the ruler Hüseyin Timur, the son of the Emir Bugatay Aka. On a window sill the name of his daughter - Takin Hatun - was inscribed also. Another dates from 1281, was built for the ruler Bugatay Aka and a female relative (the text on the sign is not very clear). I could not make out which is which.

Many Seljuk (and later Seljuk-style) mausolea are a stone evocation of the pre-islamic funeral hills of the nomads of Central Asia. During their lives, prominent clan members had their funeral hill (‘kurgan’) prepared; when death came, a circular tent was erected on top of the kurgan, and the deceased’s body was laid out, in order to be greeted a last time by the clan members. After this greeting period, the body was placed in the burial chamber inside the kurgan.
A ‘tent-style’ Seljuk Türbe has two parts: a circular or polygonal room with a pyramidal or cone roof, where a cenotaph sarcophagus can be visited and honoured; this is the part referring to the funeral tent. Beneath this ornamented construction the real burial chamber (‘cenazelik’ or ‘mumyalık’) is to be found, where the deceased’s remains were buried; this is the part referring to the burial hill.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.