Sari Saltik (Saltuk) Baba Lomb and Lodge in Babaeski

One of the most important figures in representing the Alevi and Bektashi faith and culture in the Balkans is Sarı Saltık (Saltuk) Baba. Sarı Saltık (Saltuk) Baba, who was also linked to the Rifā‘ī sect by Ibn Serrāc, tried to spread Islam in the Balkans and surrounding geographies by reaching Dobrudja in the 13th century, and this struggle has come to our day. Sarı Saltık (Saltuk) Baba was one of the tombs and lodges established in the name of Babaeski. Although there are rumours that this lodge was founded directly by Sarı Saltık (Saltuk) Baba, the actual establishment took place after the conquest of the region by the Ottoman Empire. From 1480 onwards, archives and main sources contain information about the Sarı Saltık (Saltuk) Dervish Lodge and Tomb in Babaeski. 16th century archival records indicate that the lodge was under serious investigation by the government. In addition, from the middle of the same century, Western travellers' impressions of the dervish lodge and the mausoleum have been encountered. The most extensive information on this subject belongs to Evliya Çelebi in the middle of the 17th  century. Evliya Çelebi witnessed that the lodge was under the direction of the Bektashi dervishes at that time. The administration of the Bektashis Sarı Saltık (Saltuk) Dervish Lodge in Babaeski lasted until the banning of Bektashism in 1826. At this date, Bektashism was banned and all Bektashi monasteries were closed and their assets were confiscated. The Sarı Saltık (Saltuk) Dervish Lodge in Babaeski was also affected by this disaster and the lodge was demolished by leaving only the mausoleum; its belongings and other properties were sold. The mausoleum of the lodge, which had been ruined for many years, was given to the administration of the Sezāī and Naqshī sheikhs, respectively. The lodge, which was rebuilt in wood in the mid-19th century with the initiative of the Rifā‘ī sheikh Kalbi Baba, was left to the Bektashis again in the 1880s. Bektashi sheikhs such as Kurban İsmail and Hacı Rasih Hasan Dede ruled the lodge. In this way, it is known that the lodge, which reached the 20th century, was destroyed during the Balkan wars during the occupation of the city by the Bulgarians, and that the tomb area was abandoned to its destiny after the closure of all the lodges and shrines in 1925. It was finally destroyed during the opening of the Istanbul-Edirne road. In this study, in the light of archival documents and main sources, the history of the Sarı Saltık (Saltuk) Dervish Lodge and Tomb in Babaeski will be discussed.
 
Keywords: Balkans, Edirne, Kırklareli, Babaeski, Bektashism, Sarı Saltık (Saltuk) Baba.