A Study on Bektashi Order and Bektashi Lodges in Istanbul
Keywords:
Bektashi Order, Lodge, Istanbul, Bayezid II, Janissary Army, Waqf Deeds, Karaağaç, Erikli Baba, Perişan Baba, Şehidlik, Durmuş Dede, Şahkulu Sultan, Karaca Ahmed Sultan, Yarımca Baba, Mürüvvet Baba, Karyağdı Baba, Kıncı Baba, Tahir Baba, Conquest of IstanbulAbstract
This article examines the Bektashi lodges in Istanbul from the time the city was conquered to the times that the lodges were closed/transformed/or put under a more strict control after the abolition of the janissary army in 1826. The goal of this study is to investigate the history of the Bektashi lodges in Istanbul with reference to the institutionalization of Bektashism in general and of the Janissary army and to provide a contextual analysis of their history. We argue that the Bektashi sect, reorganized during the reign of Bayezid II, underwent an institutionalization similar to that of other Istanbul lodges. The second juncture of the history of the Bektashi lodges in Istanbul is the second half of the 18th century. This new phase in the history of the logdes was cut off with the 1826 intervention of the state.
