Beşikçizade Sufi Lodge

Audio Narration:

Construction Year:

18th century

Location:

Fatih, İstanbul

Ordered By:

Beşikçizade El-Hac Süleyman Efendi

Architect:

Unknown

Changes After Construction:
  • Although the Sufi Lodge was originally Naqshi, it passed to the Khalwatiyya during the period of the third post-holder, Beypazarî El-Hac Ali Efendi.
  • After Beypazarî Ali Efendi, it briefly entered the Khalidi-Naqshi line; in the second half of the 19th century, with Sheikh Sa’deddin Efendi assuming the post, it came to be counted among the Sunbuli Sufi lodges.
  • After remaining ruined and abandoned for a period, Hasan Kamil Efendi revived the Sufi Lodge, and it was again included among the Naqshi Sufi lodges.
  • The activity of the Sufi Lodge ended in 1925; after the building was left to the family for residence on the condition of life tenancy, it remained abandoned for a long time.
  • In the fire of 2009, the building was damaged apart from one section belonging to the tawhidkhana.
  • With decision no. 2512 dated 3 December 2008, the Istanbul IV Regional Conservation Board decided on the restoration of the building.
  • The building was restored by Fatih Municipality in 2011.
Prominent Features:
  • The Sufi Lodge is an example of a dervish lodge in late-18th-century Istanbul that can be traced through changes in tariqah affiliation between Naqshbandi and Khalwati circles.
  • Among the water structures associated with the Sufi Lodge is the Beşikçizade Fountain dated 1692-1693.
  • The graveyard belonging to the Sufi Lodge has survived to the present day.
  • Among the urban elements associated with the Sufi Lodge are a well and an ablution trough (water trough).