Where do we feel ourselves closest to death? In hospital rooms, amid burial ceremonies, or while standing within a cemetery’s silent alleys?
What stirs within you when you walk through a graveyard — goosebumps, longing, a shudder, calm, or something else altogether?
To me, graveyards are secure havens, places where we entrust our dearest ones for eternity. They mirror faith and culture. Often, a cemetery becomes a canvas upon which the identity and spirit of the person who now lies beneath the soil are inscribed — transforming into part of nature’s quiet tapestry.
Some cemeteries show us that even after our physical presence fades, we may still radiate grace and artistry. Through their final resting places — their eternal homes — some individuals continue to satisfy our souls aesthetically, even when their biological existence has ceased.
One of the most beautiful examples of this, for me, is the Latin Catholic Cemetery in Feriköy, Istanbul.
Hidden in the heart of Şişli, this 19th-century cemetery carries the silent traces of Istanbul’s multicultural past. Established around the 1860s for the city’s Catholic and Levantine communities, it has become a peaceful sanctuary filled with marble angels, neoclassical tombs, and stories carved into stone.
Walking here feels like stepping into a forgotten gallery — each monument a piece of art, each name a different melody of the same city. Italian, French, Latin, and Turkish inscriptions intertwine; ivy and sunlight dance across sculpted faces. It’s a place where architecture, faith, and emotion meet in silence.
Image courtesy of levantineheritage.com
You don’t need to be religious to feel something here. You only need to pause. Between the whispering trees and white marble, there’s a quiet beauty that reminds you: even after we’re gone, we can still leave traces of grace behind.
If you’re in Istanbul now, there is an exhibition called “Memento: Mermere Kazınmış Latin İstanbul” — free to visit until the 12th of October by booking an available slot. If you plan to visit the city soon, I highly recommend experiencing this extraordinary place with your own eyes.
What I love about humanity is that when we truly wish, we can turn anything into art and peace. We can satisfy our hunger for beauty even by visiting the eternal homes of people we’ve never met — those we only discover by chance while wandering among their resting places. Sometimes, a person can still give you calm and comfort through the very spot where they lie forever.
May all our loved ones rest in peace, and may God bless us all with long, healthy, and meaningful lives. 🕯️
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