Geyikli Baba

Geyikli Baba is remembered in the sources as one of the Ottoman saints of the era of Orhan Gâzî. It is related that he received spiritual grace (fayz) from Shaykh Abü'l-Vefâ in Baghdad and learned the religious sciences from Baba İlyas Horasânî. After being trained in both the outward (zâhirî) and inward (bâtınî) sciences, he came to Anatolia and acted together with the Ottoman warriors (gâzîs) for the spread of Islam. According to tradition, because he mounted a deer during the conquest of Bursa and fought in the front ranks with his sixty-okka sword, he came to be known by the name 'Geyikli' (the one with the deer). Later he withdrew to Keşiş (Ulu) Mountain, founded a lodge (tekke) there, and, without descending to the city, gave spiritual guidance to those who came to visit him. According to what is related in the sources, when Orhan Gâzî invited him to a feast, he at first declined coyly, saying 'dervishes are people of the heart,' then came to the palace, planted a branch he had brought from his lodge, and, reciting the 24th verse of the chapter of Ibrâhîm, gave the glad tidings that the dynasty would grow and serve Islam. When the lands of İnegöl and its surroundings were offered to him, in order to preserve his humility he accepted only a small woodland plot. He raised many students; after his death, a shrine was built over his grave by Orhan Gâzî, and a mosque and lodge were added later. Near it, a village was founded by the name of 'Baba Sultan.' The complex (külliye) was restored after 1950 (AH 1369).