Hacibektas... A clean and pleasant town on the northwestern outskirts of the Cappadocian region, Hacibektas, 29 km west of Gülsehir, is famous not for its churches or troglodyte dwellings, but as the birthplace of Haci Bektas Veli, founder and spiritual leader of the Bektasi order of Dervishes. Haci Bektas, who lived in the 1200s, inspired a religious and political following that blended aspects of Islam (both Sunni and Shute) and Orthodox Christianity. Bektasi Dervishes, who were often scorned by mainstream Islamic clerics, developed a wide following in Ottoman times, attaining considerable political and religious influence. They were outlawed along with all other Dervish sects when the Turkish Republic was founded. The Bektasi spiritual philosophy developed in the borderlands between the Turkish and Byzantine empires, where guerrilla fighters from both sides had more in common with one another than they did with their sovereigns in Konya or Constantinople. Their liberal beliefs caught on with the common people, and the ideas of the Bektasis are still an important force in Turkish religious life today. The believers gather in Hacibektas each August on pilgrimage to the saint's tomb. There's only one really, the Haci Bektas Monastery, officially called the Hacibektas Muzesi, open from 8 am to 12 noon and from 1:30 to 5:30 pm, closed Monday. Admission costs US$ 0.50. Plaques are in Turkish, with some in English. Though it's called a museum, you should remember that it is a sacred place. Several rooms in the museum are arranged as they might have looked when the Dervishes lived here, including the As Evi, or kitchen, with its implements; and the Meydan Evi, where novice Dervishes were inducted into the order. Other rooms have musical instruments, costumes, embroidery, turbans and other artefacts of the order, as well as relevant old photographs. You can enter the saint's tomb in the garden at the far end of the building; remove your shoes before stepping inside, as this is a place of prayer. The previous name of the town which is also the sub- prefectural seat of the region Hacibektas in the Province of Nevsehir and located at the middle of Central Anatolia was Sulucakarahoyük. It has been erected at the southern slopes of Çilehane Beli range. A part of the inhabitants of the town of which the houses are generally built with flat roofs lives on carpet - making. Objects made by carving semiprecious stones have also become an important livelihood in the recent years.

In fact, quite a variety of souvenirs are produced from the Hacibektas stone, Beli range. A part of the inhabitants of the town of which the houses are generally built with flat roofs lives on carpet - making. Objects made by carving semiprecious stones have also become an important livelihood in the recent years. In fact, quite a variety of souvenirs are produced from the Hacibektas stone, referred to also as the "milkstone". The population of Hacibektas Subprefecture, situ- ated along Ankara - Nevsehir highway, is 20.500 according to the 1985 census and its surface area is 666 square kilometers. One township and thirty vil- lages are under subprefecture. The highest point of Subprefecture having an average Other important rises are the Kirlangic Dag in the southwest and Kizildag. Major rivers do not esst in the area where the noteworthy streams are Kiziloz, Sungur Deresi and Asiklar Deresi and where the climate is cold in winters and warm in summers. The major cash crops of the region are grains and production, grapes and fruits have also made a significant headway in the recent past.

The thirteenth century was a period of extraordinary currents evolution and development period in the history of Anatolia to which the Turks arriving in large masses had brought their social orders together with their political and military supremacies. Several thinkers and scientists had actively participated in this current in order to create a unity. Many sage men had undertaken an enlightening role for the education of the Anatolian population. Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi, Yunus Emre , Ahi Evran, Ahmet Fakih, Sultan Veled, seyyad Hamss, Nasreddin Hoca and the others under the spiritualleadership of Ahmet Yesevi are the forerunners of the thirteenth century and of this objective. Some of these great men had aimed at developing the divine feelings, some others had striven to promote the unity and strength, some had undertaken the bolster the peace, love and brotherhood, some had attempted to improve the economic order and some others had set as their goals the establishment of the tolerance and altruistic optimism among the man- kind. These great men are the foundation stones of our culture and sources of pride within the context of the universal cultural structure. They are unforgettables whose influences have spread well beyond the Anatolian peninsula and continued through the centuries.

Haci Bektas Veli is one of these great men. He was born at the city of Nishabur in Khorasan. His birthday, though not known with any degree of certainty, is believed to be around 1248. His father is Seyyid Ibrahim from Khorasan and his mother is Khatem Khatun of Nishabur. Haci Bektas Veli had spent the first 25 years of his life in Nishabur where he learned philosophy, physics, literature and other sciences from noted scientists of Turkestan, headed by Lokman Perende. He bolstered his knowledge with extensive travels in Turkestan, Iran, Baghdad, Kerbela, Mecca and Syria. He then moved on to Anatolia and settled at Sulucakarahuyuk whose current name is Hacibektas upon an invitation from Ahmet Yesevi, developed his thought at the Turkish culture center that he established here,raised untold numbers of pupils and played the leader of military, social and religious unity among the Anatolian Turks by also taldng up the problems of the people and the army. Marrying Fatma Nuriye Hanim (Kadincik Ana), daughter of Idris Hoca, Haci Bektas Veli travelled extensively the regions where the Turks had settled in Anatolia, studied the Turkish customs and traditions as maintained intact until then, amalgamated the Islamic faith and Turkish culture in the culture center that he had erected and founded his philosophy on this vector of consensus. Known also as the founder - saint of the janissary group, he was instrumental in creating the Turkish unity in Anatolia, raised the status of the woman in the social life and continued for his entire life his efforts to protect the Turkish language and culture from foreign influences and heretic intrusions. Believed to have died in 1337, Haci Bektas Veli is buried in his turbeh at Hacibektas town. He has books titled "Makalat", "Fevaid", "Sadhiyye" and "Serh-i Besmele". The work known as "Velayet-name" is an important source material for the life and miracles of Haci Bektas Veli.

Dictions from Haci Bektas Veli

Find in yourself all that you seek
Beauty of the man is in the charm of his words
Honored are those casting light to the fountain of tought
Blame no nations and humans
Control your deeds, tongue and desires
Educate all women
Do not do to others what you do not want to be done to yourself
Research is an open - ended exam
Seek and find truth
Do not forget that even your enemy is a human being
Saints are the God's gift to the humanity
Patience is the tool for attaining the goal
Ethics are the first vehicle of sage men
End of the road not passing through science is dark
Do not hurt even if you are hurt yourself