Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli Museum

HACI BAYRAM VELİ

The Ottoman Principality, which started to grow in the years when Haci Bayram Veli was born in the second half of the 14th century, tried to achieve political unity by uniting the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate lands that were torn apart and came under Mongol rule. Ankara, which was a border city during this period, changed hands several times between the Mogols and Karamanogullari. It came under the rule of the Ottomans during the time of Sultan Murad I. Murad surrounded the castle in the spring of 1363 with his army and took over the city under the influence of Ahi without fighting.

Although it is not certain, the noble name of Haci Bayram Veli, who was born in Solfasol (Solfasıl/Zülfazıl), which was established on the edge of Cubuk Suyu in Ankara in 1340, is Numan. There is no information about her mother other than the phrase "Haci Bayram Veli's mother" written on the tombstone. His father's name is Koyunluca Ahmed, and his grandfather's name is Mahmud. Hacı Bayram Veli, who was born as the eldest of two brothers and sisters named Safiyyüddin and Murad (or Abdal Murad), had a total of eight children, Seyh Ahmed Baba, Ethem Baba, Baba Sultan, Ibrahim, Ali, and three of whom were girls. While the name of two of his daughters was not clear, his daughter named Hayrunnisa married Eşrefoğlu Rumi.

After Ankara came under Ottoman rule at the beginning of the 15th century, it played a key role in the tension between Yıldırım Bayezid and Mogol Sultan Timur. Timur first surrounded the city to attract the Ottoman Sultan to Ankara, and when Yildirim Bayezid came, he gathered his army in Çubuk Plain. Yıldırım Bayezid was defeated in the Great Battle of Ankara in 1402, and he was captured by Timur and kept in Ankara Castle. In these years, he built Haci Bayram Veli's lodge in Ankara on a high hill in the northwest part of Ankara Castle in 1415. In this critical period, while Ankara is trying to survive with its economy based on tradesmen and craftsmen, the solution that will minimize the political effects of the period will come from a Sufi and his cult. Haci Bayram Veli and Bayramiyye... the producer class, who carries the Ahi spirit, came together around Haci Bayram Veli and in his lodge.

It is not a coincidence that the first very Sufi cult of Anatolia was established in Ankara. Haci Bayram Veli, who knows the importance of the continuity of the city based on trade and production, encouraged everyone who wanted to participate in the lodge to live and produce with manual work, and he became a role model for the people of Ankara by ensuring his life by farming in the soil until the end.

THE STORY OF THE MUSEUM

The mansions that host the Haci Bayram Veli Museum are in the historical Hamamarkasi district.

Hamamarkasi is the name of the region starting from the ridge of Hacettepe and extending from Karacabey Hamami to the north, to Ulucanlar Steet. Along with Hamamarkasi, Hamamönü, and Inner Castle, Ankara is the place where traditional residential texture is the most intense.

This region, which started to develop in the 13th century, preserved its stability in the 14th and 15th centuries, developed in the 16th century depending on the economic vitality, and in the 17th century, as a result of the Celali revolts that emerged in various regions of Anatolia, it was destroyed together with its bazaars and neighborhoods. By the 18th and 19th centuries, a great economic collapse had begun.

The most significant cause of the economic decline was the live exportation of the Ankara goat, unique to Ankara, by the British, who started breeding them in South Africa to produce the same quality mohair.

Haci Bayram Veli's Ankara is a city of the Ahis. One of the centers of the Ahilik, which was established by Ahi Evran in Kırşehir in the mid-13th century and mainly organized in the leather industry (tanning), in Ankara. The Ahis have been highly influential in the development of carpet weaving in Ankara. Besides tanning (leatherworking) and carpet weaving, they also played a significant role in dyeing.

Hacı Bayram Veli Museum was built with the cooperation of Altındağ Municipality and Ankara Haci Bayram Veli University in order to introduce it at the national and international level by considering it as one of the most important symbols of Ankara city history and identity with the understanding of contemporary museology.

"To establish a museum... It is equally important to give a voice to a place."

HOW WAS THE HACI BAYRAM VELI MUSEUM ESTABLISHED?

The mansions that form the museum are located at the intersection of Oksüzce Sokak and Koyungözü Sokak. The building has facades facing both streets. The structure consists of three traditional two-story residences and covers a total area of 500 square meters.

The entrance to the houses was through a courtyard. The stone-based structures were in contiguous order but independent, meaning there were no connecting points between the buildings from the inside.

Due to the potential disruption in the coherence of the story, connection doors were opened on the upper floors without causing damage to the load-bearing columns. These doors served as thresholds, allowing transitions from one time period to another and from one narrative to another.

These time periods were thematic rather than chronological. Haci Bayram Veli Museum had layers, not chronology. The aim was to take the visitor touring the museum through a story in history, to walk among the themes. That's what happened...

This Museum Tells You a Story Hacı Bayram Veli and His Ankara

ANKARA HALL

The museum exhibition is located on the upper floor of the two-story structure. The first hall of the exhibition is called the Ankara Hall. The thematic flow of the boards in the hall presents content that describes Ankara's unique ecosystem. The content has been enriched with interesting photos and documents about the Ankara Goat, Ankara Cat, and Ankara Rabbit, which are rare species native to the city and were highly regarded abroad in earlier years.

In the central showcase of the hall, there is an ancient Galatia map that depicts Ankara's location along the historical road. Ankara, with its castle situated at the intersection point of major roads leading west, east, north, and south, played a significant role in the Anatolian defense system. The showcase also displays coins minted in Ankara after it became the bastion of the Galatian Province during the Roman Period, as well as foreign travelogues.

Furthermore, a digital map has been prepared for this section to provide visitors with a glimpse of old Ankara through vintage photographs.

AHİLİK HALL

In the thematic flow of the exhibition, the subject of the second part is Ahiler and Bacılar. On the panels, the organization of the Ahi Order in Ankara in the Middle Ages, which was founded by Ahi Evran in the middle of the 13th century in Kırşehir and was organized in the leather business branch (tanning), is described with information, documents, miniatures and photographs. Information about the Bacılar who produce in the weaving business line is also included on the panels.

In the Ahilik Hall, a showcase was used to display silver accessories crafted by artisans from Ankara. These accessories were worn by both men and women of Ankara, and they are included in the showcase.

Triangular Silver Brooch (HAMAYIL)

Early 1900's.

Amulet case containing prayer paper.

Jewelry Box

Silver jewelry box made by non-Muslim artisans from Ankara.

Who were the "tanners who set up workshops and studios by the water in the area that falls to the northwest of Ankara, known as Bent deresi, weavers of sof fabric, and the "washers and dyers" who washed and dyed these fabrics? After the Mongol invasion of Kayseri, the Ahis and Bacis came to Ankara and established workshops along the banks of the Bent Stream.

They came to the water because there was abundant water in the Bent Stream for both the process of washing and dyeing sof fabric and the tanning of leather (debbağlık). They came to be safe, as Ankara, situated in Central Anatolia, had the most impregnable fortress, even during the chaotic period of "Fetret." Even during the interregnum, the city remained the safest refuge for the Ahis and merchants.

HACI BAYRAM VELİ HALL

In Sufi tradition, clothes and items such as a cardigan, crown, scepter, rida, prayer rug, and banner used by Sufis are called "dervish dowry". These pieces that make up the dervish dowry are not ordinary objects of daily life. They contain symbolic references to the community they belong to, with their color, raw materials, and shapes.

Since it is believed that they carry the blessing of the first owner of the dowry, they are used to transfer the spiritual heritage of the guardian to another by passing from the sheikh to the disciple. As long as the disciples realize the deep meanings of these items, they can go a long way.

It belongs to the collection of the Ankara Ethnography Museum.

The patched cardigan of Hacı Bayram Veli

The term "murakka" refers to a patched and old dress, which was an early term associated with Sufism. It is worn by Sufis as a symbol of asceticism (zuhd) and piety (taqwa). Wearing a woolen cloak or sweater is a distinguishing characteristic of Sufis, often referred to as "suf" garments.

Based on the event of Prophet Muhammad being dressed in a cardigan on the night of Miraj (Ascension) and gathering his Ahl al-Bayt (Family) under the burden of the hırka-aba, the people of Tasawwuf (Sufism) consider the cardigan as one of the main symbols of the path and the essential duty of guidance of Prophet Muhammad.

This cardigan serves as evidence that the disciple (murid) has obtained authorization (ijazah) for spiritual guidance and has taken on the responsibility of nurturing people following the path of their spiritual guide.

BAYRAMİYYA HALL

"Hacı Bayram Veli and the order he established had gained popularity in Ankara and its surroundings during Hacı Bayram Veli's lifetime. His disciples had tax exemption. When tax collection became impossible in Ankara, Sultan Murad II asked Hacı Bayram Veli how many disciples he had. After Hacı Bayram Veli's death in 1430, the spiritual leadership passed to Akşemseddin. The most significant characteristic that distinguished Bayramiyya from other Sufi orders was the order of craftsmen who produced with the handiwork of farmers and artisans. Hacı Bayram Veli and the dervishes emphasized farming and collecting donations for the poor by moving around in the marketplaces with banners, musical instruments, and symbols, rather than establishing tekkes (Sufi lodges) or foundations. In this way, they prioritized maintaining social balance and were aware that the unity and integrity of the state depended on this balance.

The Flag of Hacı Bayram Veli - It belongs to the collection of the Ankara Ethnography Museum.

A crown with the 'Bayrami Rose' located on its six-fold top -  It belongs to the collection of the Ankara Ethnography Museum.

The short felt cap attributed to Hacı Bayram Veli.- It belongs to the collection of the Ankara Ethnography Museum.