MAUSOLEUM OF SULTAN MOURAD

This mausoleum (Tyrbja e Sulltan Muratit, Muratovo turbe) is installed at the place where Murad I was killed on June 15, 1389 at the battle of Kosovo Polje. The site also houses a small museum.

History. The turbe (mausoleum) was erected in the aftermath of the battle by Murad I's son, the new sultan Bayezid I. The entrails of the old sultan, who died at the age of 63, were placed in a sarcophagus where they remain to this day, while the rest of the body was buried in Bursa (northwestern Turkey), then the Ottoman capital. A very simple türbe was quickly erected, constituting the first Ottoman monument in Kosovo. This was replaced by the present turbe in 1858. Since 1389, the place has been a sacred place attracting many pilgrims. In 1911, the penultimate Ottoman sultan Mehmed V came to worship there with 100 000 faithful. Then, thanks to an agreement between Turkey and Serbia, the site was maintained until the 1960s. Fallen into disuse, but spared during the war in Kosovo, the complex was restored by the Turkish agency Tika in 2010.

Visit. Passing through the gate, one discovers a beautiful garden and its five hundred year old mulberry tree supported by a wall of the complex. Between the rosebushes are the tombs of the former guardians of the türbe, all from the same family of Türbedar, whose name means "guardian of the türbe" in Turkish. Today, Saniye Türbedar, a Bosnian born in 1951 in Novi Pazar (Serbia), has taken over. She speaks only Serbo-Croatian and Turkish, but some of the guides who assist her know English. Enough to tell you to take off your shoes before entering the türbe. It is also recommended to cover up. This square ashlar building is topped by a dome and preceded by a glass entrance with a dome on top. The entrance door is decorated with engraved floral and arabesque motifs. Eight windows illuminate the only room where the sarcophagus of Murad I is located^. Covered with a mauve sheet embroidered with a passage from the Koran, it is topped with the traditional white turban of the sultans. The adjacent wall is decorated with the tuğra of Murad I, an elegant monogram with elaborate calligraphy. Near the türbe are the tombs of several 19th-century Ottoman dignitaries and the house built in 1896 to accommodate pilgrims. The latter now serves as a museum dedicated to the battle of Kosovo Polje.