The Haci Bektaş-ı Veli Complex
The Haci Bektaş-ı Veli Complex
The architectural structure and historical development of this complex, which is located in the Hacıbektaş sub-distri of Turkey’s Nevşehir province and is the site where the patron saint of the Bektaşi order of Islam is buried, is complex to say the least. This group of buildings, which were first founded in the mid l3th century and continued to expand over the centuries until the first quaiter of the 20th century are, in all their aspects,one of the rare surviving examples of a “külliye” or complex of buildings around a place of worship founded by one of the non-sunnite orders of Islam, and as such occupies an important place in the history of Turkish architecture.
It is known that Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli (d.1271), who was a disciple of Baba İlyas-ı Horasani (d.1240), came to Hacıbektaş, or Sulucakarahöyük as it was then known and set up a dervish convent or retreat in his own name. The only element of the original convent, (which must have been a fairly modest building) to have survived is the small cell known as “Kızılca Halvet” (the rosy cell), said to have been used by Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli himself. It is the tomb of Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli, together with the retreat referred to above, that should be regarded as the nucleus of this complex. It was in the l4th century, defined as “the formation period of the Bektaüi movement” by A.Y Ocak, an expert on the subject, that a group of buildings considerably larger than the original one began to take shape.
Balım Sultan (d.1516), regarded as the Bektaşi sect’s second founder (pîr-i sânisi), assumed the role of sheikh of the Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli dervish convent with the support of Bayezit II in 1501 (H.907) and, with his interpretations of religious doctrine brought the semi-independent dervish groups which were under the moral influence of the Hacı Bektaş centre, under the centre’s umbrella and organised them under a centralised administration under the guidance of a group of elders. The Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli complex, which was the centre of the movement, set up new dervish convents in the rapidly expanding territories of the Ottomans with the support of the Corps of Janissaries (which was under their religious influence) and the “beys” (heads of clans that were then advancing into Rumelia), thus increasing both their sphere of influence and wealth, and building a num- ber of new centres in the process from the first quarter of the l6th century onwards.
The Bektaüi movement was abolished by Mahmut II in 1826 when he abolished the Corps of Janissaries. Meanwhile, the Pîr Evi (tomb of the Founder) which, like other buildings belonging to the order, could not be demolished, were classified as “being of historic value” and turned over to the Nakşibendi order. However, as a result of the freedoms achieved in the Tanzimat (reform) Period, Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli was moved to the present museum. Major repairs to the complex were started by the Ministry of Education in1958 and continued in 1959 by the Foundations General Directorate. The group of buildings, which were repaired and restored more or less according to the original, were, together with the many .. original items inside them, opened as a museum in 1964.