Saints and Tombs of Muğla

Husameddin Efendi

A scholar who was the son of the Muğla Mevlevî sheikh Şâhidî İbrâhim Dede and who served as a mudarris (professor) and sheikh. In his work 'Tuhfe-i Hüsâmî', written in 1585 (AH 993), he stated that his father was İbrâhim, who used the pen-name Şâhidî. He had a large mosque bearing his own name (also recorded as Müftüler Mosque) built in the Ayazkıyı neighborhood of the Ula district of Muğla, and served as professor and sheikh at the lodge adjoining the mosque in accordance with the order from which he took his Sufi learning (whether Mevlevî or Qâdirî is disputed). After his death he was buried in the tomb built to the south of his mosque. His death is after 1585; the exact year is uncertain in the sources.

Sheikh Bedreddin of Bukhara

A saint whose tomb is in the village of Şenköy in Milas, known locally as the 'Horasan Eri' (Hero of Khorasan). Sources present him as a successor (halife) of Şeyh Muhammed Buhârî who died in Bursa; by another account he is regarded as a son-in-law of Bayezid I. According to tradition he came to the region with his soldiers and, martyred during battle, was buried here. He is venerated locally as a great figure, with prayers and votive offerings made at his tomb. NOTE: The tomb structure's inscription bears the date 1549-50 (AH 956); this conflicts with the 'son-in-law of Bayezid I' tradition, and the figure's identity and exact death date are not certain in the sources (a maqam — the traditions about the grave's certainty are disputed). The tomb is in the Şenköy cemetery, 27 km from Milas.

Shahidi Ibrahim Dede

Shaykh (Mevlevi)

A Mevlevi poet and shaykh, born in 875 (1470) in Muğla as the son of Sâlih Hüdâyî Dede, shaykh of the Muğla Mevlevihane. Known by the pen name “Şâhidî,” he took over as shaykh of the Muğla Mevlevihane after the death of his master Dîvâne Mehmed Çelebi. He is best known for his Persian-Turkish versified dictionary Tuhfe-i Şâhidî, and works such as Gülşen-i Tevhîd and Gülşen-i Esrâr. His death is recorded as 957 (1550). The TDV entry states he was buried at the foot of his master’s grave (in Afyonkarahisar), whereas local tradition holds his grave is in Muğla beside his father’s; this discrepancy is explicitly noted in the sources.