The most common form of structure is not dissimilar to that which is erected in Christian cemeteries, but it is usual to put a head-stone to the grave of a male on which is a figure representing the turban as a sign of authority. Sometimes there is a cavity in the top of the grave-stone filled with mould, in which flowers are planted.
Writing of the grave-yards of Damascus, Mr. Wellsted says: “I know of nothing which displays the Moslem character to more advantage than the care they bestow on their burial-grounds. On Friday, the Moslem Sunday, those of Damascus afford at once a touching and animated scene. The site selected for the remains of those most cherished in life is generally picturesquely situated, in some lower spot, beneath the lofty cypress or quivering poplar. Here a head-stone of marble, covered with inscriptions, and of a male, surmounted with a turban, mingles with costlier buildings, of an oblong form, very tastefully and elaborately inscribed with sentences from the Koran. The greatest care is observed in preserving these sepulchral monuments. A small aperture is left in some portions, which is filled with earth, and in them the females plant myrtle and other flowers, and not infrequently water them with their tears. On the day I have named, they may be perceived in groups, hastening to perform the sad but pleasing office of mourning for the departed.” (Travels to the City of the Caliphs, vol. i. p. 348.)
Mr. Lane (Arabian Nights, vol. i. p. 433) says the tomb “is a hollow, oblong vault, one side of which faces Mekkeh, generally large enough to contain four or more bodies, and having an oblong monument of stone or brick constructed over it with a stela at the head and foot. Upon the former of these two stelæ (which is often inscribed with a text from the Ḳur-án, and the name of the deceased, with the date of his death), a turban, or other head-dress, is sometimes carved, shewing the rank or class of the person or persons buried beneath; and in many cases, a cupola, supported by four walls, or by columns, &c., is constructed over the smaller monument. The body is laid on its right side, or inclined by means of a few crude bricks, so that the face is turned towards Mekkeh; and a person is generally employed to dictate to the deceased the answers which he should give when he is examined by the two angels Munkir and Nekeer.” [[TALQIN].]
The tombs of the imperial family of Turkey are amongst the most interesting sights of the city of Constantinople. They are principally erected in the outer courts of mosques and behind the miḥrāb. One of the finest of these mausoleums is that of Sultān Sulaimān I., who died A.D. 1566. It is an octagonal building of divers coloured marbles, with cupola and fluted roof; four pillars support the dome, which is elaborately painted in red and delicate arabesque. It contains the remains of three Sultāns, Sulaimān I., Sulaimān II., and Aḥmad II., besides some female members of the family. The biers are decorated with rich embroideries and costly shawls, and with turbans and aigrettes; and that of Sulaimān I. is surrounded by a railing inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
The mausoleum of the Emperor Jahāngīr at Shahdarrah, near Lahore, is one of the finest Muḥammadan tombs in the world. It is situated in a garden 1,600 feet square. There is, first, a fine corridor 233 feet long, from which to the central dome is 108 feet. The passage to the tomb is pared with beautifully streaked marble from Jaipūr and other places. The sarcophagus stands on a white marble platform, 13 feet 5 inches long, from north to south, and 8 feet 9 inches broad. The sarcophagus itself is of white marble, and is 7 feet long. On the east and west sides of it are the ninety-nine names of God, [[GOD, NAMES OF]] most beautifully carved, and on the south side is inscribed: “The glorious tomb of His High Majesty, the Asylum of Protectors, Nūru ʾd-dīn Muḥammad, the Emperor Jihāngīr, A.H. 1037” (A.D. 1627). On the north end of the tomb is in Arabic, “Allāh the Living God. There is no deity but God over the invisible world and all things. He is the Merciful and the Compassionate.” On the top is a short passage from the Qurʾān, written in beautiful T̤ug͟hra. The central dome of the building is 27 feet square, and on the four sides there are fine screens of trellis work. Just inside the entrance, and to the right of it, is a staircase with twenty-five steps, which leads up to a magnificent tesselated pavement, at each corner of which is a minaret 95 feet high from the platform. This platform is 211 feet 5 inches square, and is truly beautiful. A marble wall ran round the pavement, but it was taken away by the Sikhs, and it has been replaced by a poor substitute of masonry. The minarets are four storeys high, and are built of magnificent blocks of stone 8 feet by 61 feet, and in them are steps leading to the top of the building, from which there is a fine view of Lahore.
The tomb of Aḥmad Shāh Abdalī at Kandahar, is an octagonal structure, overlaid with coloured porcelain bricks, and is surmounted with a gilded dome, surrounded by small minarets. The pavement inside is covered with a carpet, and the sarcophagus of the Afghan king is covered with a shawl. The tomb itself is made of Kandahar stone, inlaid with wreaths of flowers in coloured marble. The interior walls are prettily painted and the windows are of fine trellis work in stone.
The sepulchre of the Taimur, who died A.D. 1405, is at Samarkand in Bukhārah, and is described by M. Vambéry as a neat little chapel crowned with a splendid dome, and encircled by a wall in which there is an arched gate. On both sides are two small domes, miniature representations of the large one in the centre. The court-yard between the wall and the chapel is filled with trees; the garden being much neglected. Upon entering the dome, there is a vestibule which leads to the chapel itself. This is octagonal, and about ten short paces in diameter. In the middle, under the dome, that is to say, in the place of honour, there are two tombs, placed lengthways, with the head in the direction of Makkah. One of these tombs is covered with a very fine stone of a dark green colour, two and a half spans broad and ten long, and about the thickness of six fingers. It is laid flat in two pieces over the grave of Taimur. The other grave is covered with a black stone. It is the tomb of Mīr Syud Bakar, the teacher and spiritual guide of Taimur, and beside whose grave the great Ameer gratefully desired to be buried. Round about lie other tombstones great and small. The inscriptions are simple, and are in Arabic and Persian.