Investigation of Konya Musalla Cemetery in terms of Landscape Design Principles

Grave and cemetery culture is shaped according to the lifestyles, cultures and religious beliefs of societies and is remarkable because it represents life after death. Cemeteries represent the oldest structures in human history that carry and illuminate information about cultural identity such as religion, history, social, economic, customs and crafts to the present day. As a basic function, cemeteries are storage areas that allow dead bodies to mix with the soil without endangering public health. In addition, they are places of remembrance, visitation and symbolic meaning for the living. The main material of the research is the Musalla Cemetery, located in the Selçuklu district of Konya province, with an area of 191,875 m². Musalla Cemetery was used during the Seljuk, Principalities, Ottoman and Republican periods and is the largest cemetery in Konya that has survived to the present day. The purpose of this study is to examine the current situation of Konya Musalla Cemetery in terms of landscape design principles. In this context, firstly, cemetery structural and vegetative design principles were researched, and then Musalla Cemetery was examined and evaluated in line with the mentioned principles. As a result, it has been determined that the vegetative design principles are not fully fulfilled in the area that is generally found to be suitable for structural design principles. While the lack of parking in or near the area puts visitors in a difficult situation, insufficient lighting elements threaten human safety in the evening hours.