A Place to Visit in Hacıbektaş: Kadıncık Ana House

In this research, Kadıncık Ana House, also known as Balım Evi, located in the Hacıbektaş district of Nevşehir province, is introduced. Various publications have been made about Hacı Bektaş Veli Complex and other buildings previously, but there has not been any detailed research made on Kadıncık Ana House, which is thought to be the house, where Hacı Bektaş Veli stayed, when he came to Hacıbektaş. Therefore, it is aimed to contribute to lack of knowledge in the literature and to put forward the position of the building in Bektashism and Turkish House architecture. Accordingly, after the reviewed of the sources and archives related to the subject, the building was examined taking into account the architectural and decorative features. Although there is no information on the date of the first construction of the building, it is understood that it was repaired in the years 1896-97 and 1974 according to the inscription on the arch in the Sır Room section of the building. Built with rubble stone and cut stone material, the house consists of collateral three rooms having a rectangular plan and in front of it, there is a large garden having two tombstone headstone inside. The houses in the region are generally with sofa, but at present, Kadıncık Ana House has no sofa. The walls of the Sır Room and Cem Room are plastered and embellished with hand-drawn artworks within the building. The walls of the Guest Room located between the two chambers are plasterless. We believe that the hand-drawn artworks, which have the effects of Westernization period and which are located on the walls of the Cem Room, were formed in 1896-97, and the hand-drawn artworks on the walls of the Sır Room were renovated during the restoration in 1974. The lintel arch used in the cover system of both of the rooms is widely used in the region. It is observed in the region that the vaults are built by placing sometimes a wooden beamed ceiling and sometimes a flat fine stone on the lintel arch. The covering system made in this way is generally completed with earthen roof. Herein, the Guest Room is covered with a wooden beamed ceiling, the Cem Room with a lintel arched vault and the Sır Room with a wooden beamed lintel arched ceiling. The earthen roof must be closed with a hipped roof later on. With all of its these features, the building contains the architecture of the Turkish House architecture unique to the Central Anatolia Region and constitutes an important place in the of Bektashism culture.
Keywords: Nevşehir, Hacıbektaş, Bektashism, Hacı Bektaş Veli, Kadıncık Ana House, Balım Evi