The Hasan Baba Tekke () is a former '' tekke'' (a house for the gathering of

dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

es) in the

Vale of Tempe The Vale of Tempe or Tembi (; ; ) is a gorge in the Tempi municipality of northern Thessaly, Greece, located between Olympus to the north and Ossa to the south, and between the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. The gorge was known to the Byz ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. The '' tekke'' is a large complex, now largely ruined, near the village of , on the banks of the Pineios River. In

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

times, the settlement of Lykostomion occupied the site, but the modern settlement grew up around the ''tekke'', and until the 20th century was named ''Baba'' after the founder of the ''tekke'', Hasan Baba.

History

Following his death, Hasan Baba became known as a miracle-worker, and the ''tekke'' became a site of pilgrimage for faithful from all over the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, particularly by women who wanted to conceive, and children that could not walk. A large monastic complex of the

Bektashi order Bektashism (, ) is a Sufi order of Islam that evolved in 13th-century western Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the ''walī'' "saint" Haji Bektash Veli, with adherents called Bektashis. The Bektashi co ...

grew around the ''

türbe ''Türbe'' refers to a Muslim mausoleum, tomb or grave often in the Turkish-speaking areas and for the mausolea of Ottoman sultans, nobles and notables. A typical türbe is located in the grounds of a mosque or complex, often endowed by the ...

'' (mausoleum) of its founder, including a square mosque with a minaret, quarters for the

es and pilgrims, and large kitchens. Since 1987, the ''türbe'' is under the purview of the 7th

Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities The ephors were a board of five magistrates in ancient Sparta. They had an extensive range of judicial, religious, legislative, and military powers, and could shape Sparta's home and foreign affairs. The word "''ephors''" (Ancient Greek ''éph ...

, and plans for a full-scale restoration of the monument were laid down in 2009. Limited restoration work has been undertaken to support the structure, but it is not open to the public.

Architecture

The main surviving structure is the ''türbe'', a square structure with sides 5.9 m long and 9 m high. It is roofed with a brick dome, supported by an octagonal

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

and covered with leaden sheets. It originally featured a porch covered in three small domes, but it collapsed in 1930, after the marble capitals of its columns were removed. The interior was originally covered in plaster, decorated with inscriptions from the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

, which are partly preserved, and floral patterns in white on black background. The ''türbe'' is dated to the late 14th or early 15th centuries, while a square annex on its eastern side dates to the late 17th century. The building of the kitchens also survives, while most of the surrounding area has been given over to the village of Tempi for its cemetery, or has been converted to fields. The ruins of the mosque, whose appearance is known from the depiction of

Edward Dodwell Edward Dodwell (30 November 176713 May 1832) was an Irish painter, traveller and a writer on archaeology. Biography Dodwell was born in Ireland and belonged to the same family as Henry Dodwell, the theologian. He was educated at Trinity Colle ...

, are to the northwest of the ''türbe''.

History

Architecture

References

Further reading