Kümbet (tomb tower)

A kümbet is a tower-shaped tomb built mainly in the Anatolian Seljuk and principalities periods. A cylindrical or polygonal body rises to a conical or pyramidal outer roof, and its pointed cap and steep proportions make it easy to recognise from afar. It falls within the wider category of the türbe but has an arrangement of its own.

Parts of a kümbet

• Crypt: the lower level, usually vaulted, holding the actual burial; in Turkish literature it is also called the mumyalık.
• Upper room: the space with the cenotaph, used for visits and prayer, covered inside by a dome.
• Body: square, octagonal, polygonal or cylindrical, often with niches and carved borders on its faces.
• Outer roof: a conical or pyramidal cap built separately above the inner dome.
• Entrance: a decorated door to the upper level, often reached by a stair.

Roofing system

In most kümbets the inner dome and outer cap are two separate shells. The dome covers the room; the cap gives the building its silhouette and shields the dome from the weather. In that sense it is close to the logic of a double-shell dome. The transition from body to dome is made with squinches or pendentives.

The kümbet in surveys and restoration

Slipping facing stones and open joints on the outer cap, and damp in the lower crypt, are common problems. Each level is drawn separately, and the section is cut so that it also shows the gap between inner dome and outer cap. The joint pattern of the ashlar facing becomes the key reference for replacing missing stones.