Saints and Tombs of Bolu

Sheikh Fahreddin al-Rumi of Mudurnu

A scholar and Sufi of the Yıldırım Bayezid era who settled in Mudurnu and trained students. He authored works including Müştemilü'l-ahkâm, ed-Daavâtü'l-me'sûre and Ferâidü'l-leâlî. He died in 864/1460 in Mudurnu; his grave is reported near the door of the Yıldırım Bayezid (Great) Mosque (per local tradition; may be disputed). (Sources: evliyalar.net 'Fahreddin Rûmî'; İslâm Âlimleri Ansiklopedisi)

Kemal Ümmi (Ummi Kemal)

A 15th-century Sufi-poet whose real name was İsmail; he used the pen name 'Ümmi Kemal' as he had no formal schooling. Affiliated with the Halvetiyye, he guided the people around Bolu. Known for his Divan and the mesnevis Kırk Armağan and Hazîre-i Kuds; his followers were called Kemalites. He died in 880/1475; his tomb is in Tekke (Işıklar) village southeast of Bolu. (Sources: TDV 'Kemal Ümmî'; Türk Edebiyatı İsimler Sözlüğü) [burial disputed: TDV regards Bolu as most credible]

Abdullah Efendi of Gerede

A late-19th-century Halveti spiritual guide from Gerede; one of the leading deputies of his sheikh Mustafa Safi Efendi, he succeeded to the office of guidance after the latter's death. Sources note that despite lacking formal exoteric education he excelled in esoteric knowledge. He was buried in the cell of his lodge in Gerede, over which a tomb was later built. (Sources: Evliyâlar Ansiklopedisi; Menâkıb-ı Hacı Mustafa Sâfî, Millet Library, Ali Emîrî no. 1111)

Khayr al-Dīn al-Tūqādī (Hayreddin Tokadi)

Shaykh

A Khalwatī shaykh born in Tokat who guided disciples in the Bursa and Bolu–Düzce region, and was the master of Şaʿbān-ı Velī, founder of the Khalwatiyya-Şaʿbāniyya. His date of death is not fixed in the sources (c. 1525-1530). The tomb attributed to him is in Elmalık village, 13 km from Bolu. NOTE: the “Tokatlı Hayreddin Efendi” buried in Bursa is a DIFFERENT person; TDV notes the two namesakes are often confused.

Aqshamsaddin (Akshamsaddin)

Shaykh

A Bayramî–Halvetî shaykh and tutor of Sultan Mehmed II (the Conqueror). He is reported to have had an interest in medicine and botany, and tradition associates him with identifying the grave of Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī during the conquest of Istanbul. He spent his final years in Göynük (Bolu), where he died in late Rabīʿ al-Ākhir 863 (February 1459).