Ismail Fakirullah Tomb and its Light Refraction Mechanism

Photo by Can Sarica.

Ismail Fakirullah Tomb and its Light Refraction Mechanism is part of the Tentative list of Turkiye in order to qualify for inclusion in the World Heritage List.

The Ismail Fakirullah Tomb is a structure in the Sufi tradition which yearly on March 21 (at Nowruz) is illuminated by the sun. The sun beams are captured by a prism on top of the tower, which then refracts it and shines on the tomb for 6 minutes. The building dates from the 18th century.

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The coordinates shown for all tentative sites were produced as a community effort. They are not official and may change on inscription.

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Zoë Sheng

Chinese-Canadian - 31-Jan-22 -

Ismail Fakirullah Tomb and its Light Refraction Mechanism (T) by Zoë Sheng

When you first get here it seems like something magical is awaiting inside the curious looking building, but turns out inside (don't forget to remove shoes but it's mot a mosque and women are allowed in) are just Ismael F. Inside isn't all that great and I always feel that tombs of religious or political figures should never be considered as an inscription, how Xerxes made it on the list is still debatable.

What's apparently great about the place is the light refraction mechanism. Once a year light is supposed to shine on the tower and refract it into the tomb. Does it really happen only once a year or is it not happening more often because they block off the light on other days. It seems more of a religious procedure that occurs once a year, and that would not fall on the same day due to modern calendars having leap years.

Either way, there is no way for me to see the magic of refraction and the tomb without it is not worth the sidetrip. Even on the day it occurs in March there will be no way to see it because the room is so tiny that only 10 people can fit in to see it and there are probably hundred lining up to see it.

 


Full Name
Ismail Fakirullah Tomb and its Light Refraction Mechanism
Country
Turkiye
Added
2015
Type
Cultural
Categories
Religious structure - Islamic Structure - Burial
Link
By ID
2015 Added to Tentative List

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Ismail Fakirullah Tomb and its Light Refraction Mechanism (T)

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