Story By: Feza Uzay, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency:  Newsflash

A grave has been left in the middle of a road in a Turkish village after it was decided that it served as a convenient ‘speed bump’ to make motorists slow down.

The grave was first discovered in the neighbourhood of Nisancipasa in the Turkish province of Edirne many years ago when a decaying mosque partially collapsed and villagers were cleaning up the grounds.

Local residents believed the grave must have belonged to a holy man, probably the founder of the mosque, as it was discovered on the grounds.

As it is forbidden to transport the remains of holy men to a different location, people simply left it where it was.

The grave was left in the middle of the road when the council paved around it many years ago and did not move it.

Local resident Serafettin Yilmaz told local media outlet Haberler: “I first came here in 1979, and the grave was here then. Neighbours planted flowers on the soil above the grave and kept them watered. We say a prayer every time we pass by.”

Nisancipasa neighbourhood head Irfan Deniz explained that the remains of the holy man who built the mosque were later found elsewhere, and therefore the grave in the street is probably empty.

However, as the grave acts as a convenient speed bump to make motorists slow down, the community decided to leave it there.

Deniz said: “I researched this place in the municipality records and building records. We saw that there was not a grave included on the road plans and therefore we don’t believe anyone is in the grave. It is not a real grave and there is not a holy man’s body here.

“For this reason, we decided to remove the grave from the street, but then we realised that passing motorists saw it and always slowed down.

“We thought this was a good thing for residents and so we left it where it was.”

In July, a new rural road in another Turkish village was built with a grave of a holy man in the middle of it.

The incident came about when a house owner reportedly had a dream that a holy man was buried in her back garden in the district of Sarkisla in the Turkish province of Sivas.

When she dug up the site with a neighbour, they were shocked when they did indeed find a skeleton.

As it is forbidden to disturb the bones of holy men, which need to be left where they are buried, the woman simply put up a small unmarked grave and left it.

However, years later, the house was the subject of a compulsory purchase to allow the new road to be built, which then got bogged down in the question of what to do with the grave after the house was demolished.

Eventually, it was decided to leave the grave and build the road around it, and there is now a road with the grave in the middle of it.

Although a name is written on the tombstone as a result of the information supplied by the former owner, who is believed to have dreamed the name, it is unknown exactly who was buried in the grave.

Neighbourhood head Ahmet Hark confirmed that the owner had seen a holy man’s grave in her dreams, which they found when they dug up the yard, and built the grave as a sign of respect.

He also confirmed that it was now a place where many people come to pray.