Author Lawrence Durrell once lived in house in the grounds and wrote:
It was in Rhodes where I spent such happy post-war years, locked into the sacred garden of Murat Reis. I was indeed living in a Turkish cemetery of such beauty and silence that I often longed to die and be sealed into one of those beautiful forms (from Lawrence Durrell and the Greek World)
With a description like that we had to go and look at it.
The mosque was built in 1524 just after the Ottoman conquest of Rhodes and is named after Murat Reis (or Murad there’s no definitive spelling) who was an Ottoman naval commander. Born in Rhodes to Albanian parents he is buried in the cemetery. His tomb is still there and for many years Ottoman sailors would visit for good luck on their voyages.
a meek-mannered man dressed in elastic-sided boots, who smokes his cigarette in an ebony cigarette holder (from Lawrence Durrell Reflections on a Marine Venus)
Going through an old wooden door you enter an outdoor corridor with buildings either side and then go into a courtyard.
a forgotten graveyard full of sedate tombs… in a sad state of disrepair. Many of the tombs have fallen to pieces, and in places the loose drift of leaves has half obscured others. The majority of those who lie buried here are Turkish civil servants. A few are political exiles. (from Lawrence Durrell Reflections on a Marine Venus)
An interesting historical note. The Mufti of the mosque during Durrell’s time was Suleyman Kasiloglou. There was a large Jewish community on Rhodes who came from Spain and brought many artefacts of the Jewish church with them. The 45.5 meter Torah scroll was one of their most precious religious texts. When the Nazi’s took Rhodes and were transporting the Jewish population to Auschwitz they entrusted the Torah to Suleyman.
It lay hidden under the pulpit in the mosque until after the occupation, when he returned it to the Jewish survivors. Thanks to the trusting relationship between Muslims and Jews at the time the Torah is now in the national library of Israel.
If you’ve got half an hour to spare and are looking for somewhere away from the tourists, take a wander around under the eucalyptus and escape the heat.
This post was first written in 2015, updated in 2018 and I’ll be going back to take some new photographs soon.
Olive, Feta & Ouzo
A travel & lifestyle blog with a focus on expat life. Written and photographed by Amanda Settle.
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Thank you for the photos and observations about the Turkish cemetery. I lived in the cemetery for about a year in 1956-57. The Mufti was a good friend & we often had tea together. The tomb of Murad Reis is on one side of the black and white pebble courtyard we see in one of your photos, i.e. opposite the entrance from the street..
Thank you for this.. I’ve been to Rhodes during 34 years several times a year, and never been inside the cemetary.. I’ve allways found it a bit spooky.. but i will defenetly go inside next time.. It looks beautifull on its own way,..
Thank you, I must admit it does appear spooky from outside but very different once you’re in there. I hope you enjoy your next visit 🙂
Well, that was a very interesting read about the Turkish Cemetery Amanda, thank you. We always stay in The Plaza and park our car outside of this place by the Casino. It was lovely to understand more about it and next time I shall most definitely be walking around the wall to see if I can find the entrance. I hadn’t realised it was so big inside, I usually just peer through the railings whilst feeding the few cats that choose to stay there ?
Thank you Lisa I hope you enjoy wandering around next time you’re here, I’ll add a new picture of the entrance now it’s been repainted over the winter months.
Thanks!
This was so fascinating. Thanks for sharing this on Wherever Wednesday. I enjoyed reading ALL your posts and would love if you would link up again (just got the new post up…I was a couple days late, cause, life.). http://texifornia.blogspot.com/2015/06/this-is-wherever-wednesday-30.html
Life can do that sometimes 😀 I will link up again