Guide
The tomb stands in the Eyüp Sultan Mosque precinct, between the ablution courtyard and the tomb courtyard, just left of the gate that joins them. Its inscription is the work of the calligrapher el-Hac İsmail Efendi.
Beşir Ağa rose through the palace household to become companion to Ahmed III and then his treasurer in 1707. He was exiled to Cyprus and Egypt, appointed sheikh of the Haram, and recalled to İstanbul as chief of the Gate of Felicity in 1716-17 — a post he held for thirty years, until his death in 1746.
He left buildings as well as a career. On Baba Haydar Caddesi in Eyüpsultan he had a darülhadis built in 1734-35, with a fountain, a primary school and a library beside it; the source records that the complex is now in poor condition.
