Saints and Tombs of Isparta

Baba Sultan (Sûreti Baba)

The pir of the Sûreti Baba lodge in the Yazla quarter of Eğirdir, a Bektashi dervish linked to the lineage of Hacı Bektaş Velî; sources record his father as Lâle Sultan, his given name as Mürsel, and that he served as a castle guard among the gazis. His tomb, per its inscription, is an octagonal, conical-roofed Seljuk-style structure built in 759/1357-58 by Hamidoğlu Hüsâmeddin İlyas Bey. The lodge closed in 1826 with the banning of the Bektashi order. (Sources: Yusuf Ertaş, Hamidoğulları-era Eğirdir Architecture; Isparta Provincial Directorate)

IspartaDied 759 AHView

Hâce-i Sultânî (Kınalı Abdülkadir Efendi)

An Ottoman scholar of Isparta origin, born c. 916 AH. He served Mevlânâ Ali Tûsî, held offices, and is said to have tutored Mehmed the Conqueror before being exiled to Isparta through the enmity of Grand Vizier Mahmud Pasha. Having joined the Kadirî order, and as his name was Abdülkadir, his disciples called him Hâce-i Sultânî. His tomb in the Hisar quarter is known locally as the Uyuoğlu tomb. (Sources: Ölmez & Gökmen, bilig 35/2005; Böcüzade, Isparta Tarihi)

Halife Sultan (Şeyh Alâaddin Efendi)

A major scholar of his age and a caliph of the Erdebîliyye order, his real name Şeyh Alâaddin Efendi; he died in Isparta in 930 AH. Renowned for his authority in ferâiz (inheritance law), scholars in doubt over inheritance questions were said to visit his tomb. He is buried in the Halifesultan quarter named after him, in a domed, iron-railed tomb. (Sources: Ölmez & Gökmen, bilig 35/2005; Isparta Provincial Directorate)

IspartaDied 930 AHView

Gök Veli Sultan (Şeyh Recep)

Reckoned among the Turkish scholar-dervishes who came from Khorasan, said to have reached Isparta in 1551. Popularly called 'Ayak Dedesi' (Grandfather of the Feet) for the belief that he heals children slow to walk. His tomb stands in the courtyard of the Çinili (Kavaklı) Mosque in the Çelebiler quarter. (Sources: Ölmez & Gökmen, bilig 35/2005; Böcüzade, Isparta Tarihi)

Burhan al-Din ibn Muhammad al-Egridiri

An Ottoman-era scholar and Sufi born in Tosya in 1494 who settled in Eğirdir. He trained in the Zeyniyye order under Şeyh Nasûh Efendi; his standing was such that the future grand vizier Rüstem Pasha was directed to him. He died in Eğirdir in 970/1562 and was buried beside his forebears in the cemetery next to the mosque in the Yazla quarter. (Sources: Evliyalar Ansiklopedisi; Ölmez & Gökmen, bilig 35/2005)

IspartaDied 970 AHView

Hızır Abdal Sultan

A Khorasanian dervish who settled in Isparta in the second half of the 15th century (c. 1464/1476) as a Naqshbandi caliph. He served for over fifty years at the lodge he founded where the Ak Oluk Mosque now stands; the lodge later took on a Bektashi character. He died in 937/1521 and was buried opposite the Ak Oluk Mosque in the Hızırbey quarter named after him. (Sources: Ölmez & Gökmen, bilig 35/2005; Böcüzade, Isparta Tarihi)

IspartaDied 937 AHView

Piri Halife Sultan

Piri Halife (real name Mehmed) was a Halveti scholar born in Khoy who died in the early reign of Mehmed II. He received his authorization from Şeyhülislâm Berdeî and Şeyh Abdüllatîf-i Kudsî and came with Hacı Bayrâm-ı Velî to the Hamidili (Isparta) region. His grave lies beside a mosque in the Yazla neighborhood of Eğirdir, visited as Piri Halife Sultan. (Sources: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, 'Mehmed Halîfe'; Isparta Directorate of Culture and Tourism.)

Berdeî Sultan

Berdeî Sultan was a scholar and Sufi of Khorasanian/Azerbaijani origin who settled in Eğirdir in the 14th century at the invitation of Hızır Bey. He is buried in the Yazla neighborhood on the shore of Lake Eğirdir and is remembered as the teacher of scholars such as Piri Halife. (Sources: Isparta Directorate of Culture and Tourism; History Studies journal.)

IspartaDied 1364View

Seyyid Veli Baba Sultan

Veli Baba (real name Hüseyin) is venerated as a saint of sayyid descent who lived in the 16th-17th centuries in Uluğbey village near Senirkent, Isparta. The 1895 Veli Baba Menâkıbnâme traces his lineage to the Prophet's family. Construction of his tomb began in 1622 and was completed in 1858; the domed structure remains an important pilgrimage center. (Sources: Senirkent District Governorate; Kültür Portalı; Ali Baş–Bayram Ürekli, Selçuk University, 1994.)