The Tomb of Zeynel Bey - Hasankeyf, Turkey

I can’t help but feel like I have all the town by myself, aside of course from the local residents.  That feeling was augmented when I reached the Tomb of Zeynel Bey.  

I was strolling along the banks of the Tigris river gaping at the old bridge from up-close.  I continued walking up to the main highway as I wanted to get to where the tubular structure I have seen on the other side of the river while I was standing up  at the cliff of Ali Aga mansion.  I was almost certain it’s a historical ruin.

I tread the path on the left off the highway at the back of the tall steel antennae tower, about 10 minutes more passing by some houses, cows and couple of horses grazing, there it was, standing forlorn in the midst of green grasses and pretty tiny white flowers.  The complex is surrounded by a square low rocks enclosure with the gate open.  

The Tomb of Zeynel Bey is a cylindrical structure with the top dome resembling an onion dates back to the 15th century.  It is dotted with rich blue tiles and beige-colored bricks in a pattern characteristic of Central Asian architecture.  There are several ruins around the mausoleum. 

Zeynel Bey died in a battle in 1473 and was buried in this mausoleum.  He is the son of Uzun Hassan, the ruler of the 15^th century Akkoyunlu Dynasty that ruled Hasankeyf.

Further back along the Tigris river is another structure that looks like a relic of an old mosque.

Another tomb perched on top of a mound of  hill just along the highway few meters from the new bridge, the Tomb of Imam Abdullah.  He is the grandson of Jafar at-Tayyar, uncle of the prophet Mohammad.

I guess, it’s not tourist season so it was so serene that I could hear the hissing of the winds, echoing from the mountain ranges in the distance, evoking a feeling of seclusion.  More like a beautiful solitude.

No one is there, I was the only soul wandering around the place.  Don't you just love a place considered as an open-air museum having all the sights entry free? 

I can’t help but ponder on that thought.  The town is probably generating income out of the tourists coming (albeit not in throng) from tourism establishments such as restaurants, couple of accommodations, souvenir shops, but not from museum or sight entrance fees.

Life in this town is so blissful, perhaps, they are just happy to have visitors marveling at the amazing sights and the beauty of the town and calmness of its people.