Funerals in Turkey: A guide to Burial, Paperwork and Funeral Traditions

Death is a part of life. It’s a natural process that we can’t avoid, dying in Turkey or losing your loved one may come as a shock to you.

In this blog post, you’ll find everything you need to know about death, paperwork, and Funerals in Turkey so you can plan accordingly.

Dying at home in Turkey

If a person dies in Turkey, in-home, the number 188 which is the number of burial affairs.

A forensic doctor will verify whether the death was natural or not.

The body must not be touched until the forensic doctor arrives

If the death was natural, he will give the family of the deceased a death report, and then the municipality will transfer him to the cemetery, where the burial affairs are completed there.

If the death was unnatural, the body will be referred to the forensic medicine department and the police department will be involved to investigate the reason for death.

İf you suspect unnatural death or murder as a reason for the death you should call the police immediately on 155.

Dying in a hospital in Turkey

If someone dies in Turkey in a hospital, his family must obtain a death report and then request a mortuary transport vehicle from the municipality to be transported to the cemetery.

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The hospital will take care of the paperwork. İf the family wants the remains to be transferred outside of Turkey they will have to let the hospital know.

About Funerals in Turkey

Your loved one is gone, but funeral traditions are still observed. You will have to decide whether the funeral is going to be held in Turkey or the remains will be transported to another country.

As Turkey is a Muslim majority country the funerals are held after funeral prayers in the mosque.

Funeral Tradition in Turkey

Turkish people believe that this life is only a trial for the afterlife. Depending on how well you lived will determine if your soul goes to cennet or cehennem respectively.

Every soul will taste death and you will be paid in full only on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever is kept away from the Fire and admitted to the Garden will have triumphed. The present world is only an illusory pleasure:

Quran (3:185)

The body of the dead is washed three times, and covered in white sheets. According to a set of funeral rituals their eyes and mouth are closed for privacy during this time period before friends or family can view them while accepting condolences from others who may not know what happened yet themselves