Saints and Tombs of Tokat

Sheikh Meknun (Açıkbaş)

The dervish sheikh who gives his name to the Şeyh Meknun (Açıkbaş) zaviye and tomb on the Tokat–Turhal road, near the Yeşilırmak (Hıdırlık) Bridge. The building is dated to the last quarter of the 13th century and is among Tokat's oldest surviving structures; lacking an inscription, archival research proposes correcting the name to 'Şeyh Bektut (Açıkbaş).' Evliya Çelebi records it as a Bektashi lodge. (Sources: Gaziosmanpaşa Univ. Tokat History and Culture Symposium, Demirtaş 2015; Kültür Portalı)

Keçeci Baba (Ahi Mahmud Veli)

An Ahi/dervish leader of Khorasani origin who came to Anatolia in the 13th century; his real name was Ahi Mahmud Veli, known as 'Ahi Baba.' He founded his lodge in Keçeci village (Erbaa) that bears his name and is the pir of the still-active Keçeci Baba Ocağı. His tomb is in Keçeci village, Erbaa; the death date is uncertain (oral tradition 1349, scholarly estimate 13th c.). (Sources: Türk Kültürü ve Hacı Bektaş Velî Araştırma Dergisi; Erbaa Gündem)

Cimi Dede

A dervish venerated in the Reşadiye area as the 'Cimi Saint,' held to belong to the Khorasani/Yasawi tradition. The date 1257 is read on his tomb's door, and in 1386 Eslime Hatun, daughter of Süleyman Bey, endowed revenues to the Cimi Dede zaviye. His tomb is in Cimitekke town (Reşadiye). (Sources: 'Reşadiye ve Çevresindeki Alevî Ocakları,' Türk Kültürü ve Hacı Bektaş Velî Dergisi 2022/101; Bilimdili.com)

Ahi Yusuf

An Ahi saint buried in Turhal, regarded as the patron (pir) of the saddlers' guild. His tomb stands on Amasya Avenue in central Turhal, adjacent to the tomb of Şeyh Mehmet Nurullah, dated 1324. He is among the established representatives of the Ahi tradition in the Tokat region. (Sources: Tokat Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism; Turhal Municipality)

Abd al-Majid al-Shirwani

A Khalwati Sufi master and scholar of Shirvani origin who settled in Tokat. His most famous disciple was Şemseddin Ahmed Sivasi ('Kara Şems'), who studied under him for about ten years. He died in Tokat in 972/1564 and, per his will, was buried on the bank of the Kelkit River. (Sources: Evliyalar Ansiklopedisi / ehlisunnetbuyukleri.com; İttifak Gazetesi)

Hadji Ahmed Efendi of Niksar

(q.s.)

Born in the village of Beyseki near the Melet River in the Ordu region, he received his first education from his learned father Yusuf Efendi. After studying under Sheikh Mustafa Rumi in Çorum and receiving his ijaza, he came to Niksar and founded a lodge in the Karşıbağ quarter, becoming known for his preaching and guidance. He died on 30 January 1937 at about ninety years of age and was buried in the Melik Gazi cemetery in Niksar.

Sheikh Nusreddin (Nasir al-Din b. Hamza)

(q.s.)

A Khorasan dervish whose complex of tomb, lodge and mosque stands in Şeyh Nusrettin (Tekke) village near Zile. His tombstone reads 'Sheikh Nasir al-Din'; popular usage turned it into Nusret/Nusreddin. Endowment records of his lodge dated 754 AH (1353), 770 AH (1368) and 792 AH (1389) survive and the square-planned domed tomb is dated to the 14th century. Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatname counts him among the deputies of Khwaja Ahmad Yasawi.

Sumbul Baba (Hadji Sunbul)

(q.s.)

A dervish who lived in Tokat at the end of the 13th century. He is reported to have been a freedman of Safiyeddin, daughter of the Seljuk statesman Muineddin Pervane. He had his lodge-mosque-tomb on present-day Gaziosmanpaşa Boulevard in central Tokat built in 691 AH (1291-92 CE); the crown-gate inscription names the building 'Dar al-suleha' (abode of the righteous). His grave lies inside the lodge.