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Osmanli Medeniyeti Arastirmalari Dergisi, no.24, pp.238-275, 2025 (Scopus)
Due to their physical properties, various tree species have held important places in nearly every culture. Among these, the willow—with its elegant and flexible form, fruitlessness, ability to grow near water, and the harmonious drop of its branches—has held diverse connotations in various cultures. While it represents death, mourning, departed lovers, and sadness in the Western world, in the Far East, it evokes women's elegance, lineage, chastity, farewell, and separation. In Central Asia, it symbolizes protection, healing, luck, and abundance. In Anatolian Turk-ish-Islamic culture, the willow has been associated with sadness, healing, protection, and heaven, thus playing a significant role in the stories and miracles of religious sects. This study examines the representations of the willow on murals in Ottoman religious architecture between the 18th and 20th centuries. Drawing on the importance of the willow tree in both written and oral traditions of this period, the article discusses the reasons and motivations for its visual depictions in specific contexts. The motif appears in mosques, tombs, and fountains built in regions where religious sects were active in the Ottoman provinces. For the first time, this study provides an art historical and iconographic evaluation of this specific motif about style, artist, patron, folk beliefs, and sect culture. Although willow tree depictions are limited in number compared to other tree species, they reflect the richness of Ottoman folk culture, the beliefs of the period, and the unique aspects of the art of painting.