Tomb of Sultan I. Abdülhamit (One of the tombs containing the footprint of our Prophet)

Sultan I. Abdülhamid (1774-1789) reigned during an extremely challenging political period for the Ottoman Empire. During this time, heavy wars were fought with Russia; however, the sultan never lost his religious sensitivity and attachment to sacred relics. Kadem-i Şerif refers to the footprint attributed to the Prophet. Ottoman sultans were extremely sensitive about collecting, preserving, and building special tombs for such sacred relics. The Sacred Relics Chamber located in Topkapi Palace is the largest-scale example of this tradition. The Kadem-i Şerif found in the Tomb of Sultan I. Abdülhamid is also a link in this tradition. The presence of kadem-i şerifs in tombs has been realized both through the sultan's own burial and the identification of the sacred object he donated with the location. [Source: TDV Islamic Encyclopedia, "Kadem-i Şerif" article, islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/kadem-i-serif; "Abdülhamid I" article, islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/abdulhamid-i]