In the grounds of Hagia Sophia, but accessed by a different entrance, are five mausoleums. Four of them are purpose-built, while one is the converted baptistry chapel of the Great Church. The mausoleums are beautiful marble buildings which are decorated inside with coloured tiles and geometrical patterns. They hold the coffins of the Sultans and their families covered in green cloth, with cloth turbans on the coffins to show the status of those buried inside.

Ottoman tombs (türbe) are unlike tombs in the Western world. They are elaborately decorated inside, and often outside as well, and are carpeted inside so that visitors can remove their shoes and pray as is normal practice in mosques. The coffins themselves are on the floor in the middle of the tomb, covered in green felt.

Admission is free into the tombs, but you will have to go through a bag security check on the way into the enclosure.

In order from the entrance, you will find:

• The Tomb of Sultan Mehmed III.

• The Tomb of Sultan Selim II, designed by Mimar Sinan.

  The great architect Sinan was commissioned by Sultan Selim II to build a tomb for him, and the tomb was completed three years after the death of the sultan. It is a tall octagonal building with a dome, and uses the same sort of arched supports as in Sinan's many mosques. The walls inside are covered in tiles with geometric, calligraphic and floral patterns. The ceiling is elaborately decorated in abstract patterns using the malakâri technique in which wet plaster is shaped with a trowel and painted. There is an elaborate roofed portico at the entrance. The tomb is the final resting place not only of the sultan himself but also of many members of his family, making a grand total of 42 coffins on display. Each coffin has a statue of a headdress - a turban or hat - which indicates the deceased person's status.

• The Tomb of Sultan Murad III.
• The Tomb of Princes - four sons and one daughter of Murad III.
• The Tombs of Sultan Mustafa I and Sultan Ibrahim, in the Baptistery of Hagia Sophia.

Visiting time: 30 minutes. Nearest public transport: Tram Line 1, Sultanahmet stop.