Saints and Tombs of Eskişehir

Sheikh Şehâbeddin Sühreverdî (Odunpazarı)

A Sufi figure remembered as the founder/sheikh of the lodge (Salı Tekkesi) in Odunpazarı, Eskişehir, held to date from the Anatolian Seljuk period. His exact death date and identity are uncertain as no inscription survives. Only the tomb remains, containing two uninscribed cenotaphs attributed to Şeyh Şehâbeddin and his son Şeyh Muhiddin; it was repaired in 1984 and restored by the General Directorate of Foundations in 2009. (Note: this Odunpazarı tomb is distinct from the TDV-catalogued Şehâbeddin Sühreverdî complex in Konya Ereğli.) (Sources: Eskişehir Provincial Directorate of Culture & Tourism; Cultural Inventory, KE 192112.)

Sayyid Battal Ghazi

(may God be pleased with him)

A legendary frontier warrior (gazi) who gained fame during the Umayyad-era border campaigns against Byzantium in the 8th century. Sources report that 'Battal' was a title denoting his heroism and his real name was Abdullah; he is said to have fallen as a martyr around 740. His shrine in the Seyitgazi district of Eskişehir lies at the center of a Seljuk-era complex.