The Tomb of Abul Hasan Harakani

The tomb of Abul Hasan Harakani, one of the first Turkish Islamic scholars to be martyred in Anatolian lands, is one of the surviving works from Seljuk Ruler Alparslan, who took Kars in preparation for the Battle of Malazgirt. Born in 963 in The Horasan region of Iran, Abul Hasan Harakani came from Turkmenistan to Anatolia during the raids of the Seljuk State in the 11th century. In the Seljuks called Alperen, both clergy and soldiers, Harakani is one of the leading Alperens of the state. Abul Hasan Harakani, one of the first soldiers of the efforts of the ruler of the period Alparslan to enter the Anatolian territory, was martyred in 1033 while fighting Byzantine soldiers on the outskirts of Kars Castle. Exactly 40 years later, one of the first orders given by Alparslan in Kars, which was taken by the Seljuks, is to build a shrine where Harakani was martyred. Lala Mustafa Pasha, the grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire, helps the rescue of the tomb, which is trying to resist time until the 16th century. In 1617, Lala Mustafa Pasha's joy is told in the inscription at the entrance of the tomb, which was repaired according to its original. Until 1998, the tomb in the courtyard with a tuff stone knitting system in the garden of Evliya Mosque is rebuilt by Kars Cultural Assets Protection Directorate. Instead of simple-built walls, the inscription on the domed tomb, which is taken around today's wooden sandals, is placed as the original state. The Tomb of Abul Hasan Harakani, one of the most important works in terms of religious tourism in Kars city, is inundated with thousands of visitors every year.