Cypress

Cypress in Turkish ‘servi’ is changed due to the wrong pronunciation into ‘selvi’. The cypress is planted on the graves so that it prevents the bad smell of the body while it decomposes. It lives so long that the oldest tree in the world with the height of 112.7 m (which is equal to a 30-floor- building) is a cypress.

Cypress which is accepted as the oldest tree in Istanbul, is located in the garden of Sümbül Efendi Mosque in Koca Mustafa Paşa.

It has different usages of cypress in the history. For instance, Phoenician used to make ship while it was planted as dowry in Roman Empire. In Byzantium Empire, there were forests called cypress forests. What’s more, in the Ottoman times, cypress is known as ‘Life Tree’. Craftspeople used to use this pattern on chine, carpets and fountains. In Islam, cypress shows the solidarity and community. In the graves, this pattern is used as ‘Life Tree’.