Ali Rıza Efendi died in Thessaloniki on May 23, 1886, according to a newly identified Ottoman family pension record. His wife Zübeyde and daughter Makbule recalled a prolonged illness after his business ventures failed; Makbule called it intestinal tuberculosis, while some later researchers suggest an intestinal infection. He was buried in the cemetery of the Horatacı Sultan Mosque, at the site now known as the Rotunda.