Saints and Tombs of Nevşehir

Resul Bali

A dervish counted among the caliphs (halife) of Hacı Bektâş-ı Velî; he appears in the Vilâyetnâme as Baba Resul / Resul Baba. His domed tomb (kümbet) stands within the Hacı Bektâş-ı Velî complex, abutting the eastern wall of the main shrine and opening onto Kırklar Meydanı, and is among the oldest units of the complex. According to Remzi Gürses, its gravestone is dated 677 (1278-79). (Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Hacı Bektâş-ı Velî Külliyesi'; Remzi Gürses, Hacıbektaş Rehberi.)

Güvenç Abdal

A dervish counted among the caliphs of Hacı Bektâş-ı Velî, said to have been originally named Genç Abdal. His tomb stands on the platform west of Kırklar Meydanı in the Hacı Bektâş-ı Velî complex and is also called the 'Girls' Tomb' because it holds three sarcophagi. The principal seat of the Güvenç Abdal lineage is in the Kürtün district of Gümüşhane, and some scholars regard this Hacıbektaş tomb as a symbolic shrine (makam); it is therefore disputed. (Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi; Turkish Ministry of Culture registry; Kültür Envanteri.)

Balim Sultan (Hızır Bali)

The second pîr

Originally named Hızır Bali, a Sufi regarded in the Bektashi order as the 'second pîr' after Haji Bektash Veli. Born in Dimetoka, he reorganized the Bektashi order and died in 922/1516. His tomb within the Haji Bektash Veli Complex at Hacıbektaş was built in 1519 by Şehsuvaroğlu Ali Bey.

Haji Bektash Veli

May his secret be sanctified

A great Sufi of Khorasanian origin, regarded as the pîr (founding patron) of the Bektashi order. A disciple of the Vefâî sheikh Baba İlyas of Khorasan, he settled in Sulucakarahöyük (today Hacıbektaş) and is buried in his tomb within the later-built complex there (d. 669/1271).