Hacıbektaş, formerly Karahöyük, is a town and district of

Nevşehir Province Nevşehir Province ( tr, , from the Persian compound نو شهر ''Now-shahr'' meaning "new city") is a province in central Turkey with its capital in Nevşehir. Its adjacent provinces are Kırşehir to the northwest, Aksaray to the southwest, ...

in the

Central Anatolia The Central Anatolia Region ( tr, İç Anadolu Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Ankara. Other big cities are Konya, Kayseri, Eskişehir, Sivas, and Aksaray. Located in Central Turkey, it is bordered ...

region of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 11,929 of which 5,169 live in the town of Hacıbektaş.Statistical Institute
/ref> Located in

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...

, the district covers an area of , and the average elevation is , with the highest point being Mt. Kırlangıç at . The town is named after

Haji Bektash Veli Haji Bektash Veli or Wali ( fa, حاجی بکتاش ولی, Ḥājī Baktāš Walī; ota, حاجی بکتاش ولی, Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli; sq, Haxhi Bektash Veliu) (1209 – 1271) was a Muslim mystic, saint, Sayyid and philosopher from Kh ...

, a 13th-century Sufi saint who founded the

Bektashi Order The Bektashi Order; sq, Tarikati Bektashi; tr, Bektaşi or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi mystic movement originating in the 13th-century. It is named after the Anatolian saint Haji Bektash Wali (d. 1271). The community is currently led by ...

History

W. M. Ramsay Sir William Mitchell Ramsay, FBA (15 March 185120 April 1939) was a Scottish archaeologist and New Testament scholar. By his death in 1939 he had become the foremost authority of his day on the history of Asia Minor and a leading scholar in t ...

identified the town as one of the possible locations of

Doara Doara ( grc, Δοάρα) was a town of ancient Cappadocia, inhabited in Byzantine times. It was in the Chamanene prefecture created by Archelaus of Cappadocia during Hellenistic times. The town appears on the Peutinger Table between Caesarea and ...

, an ancient town and bishopric. Modern scholars place it elsewhere. For centuries, Hacıbektaş has served as the international headquarters of the

until Atatürk outlawed all

dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, ...

orders in 1925. In 1930, the Bektashi Order officially set up its new headquarters in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

Notable residents

, the founder of the

Bektashi The Bektashi Order; sq, Tarikati Bektashi; tr, Bektaşi or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi mystic movement originating in the 13th-century. It is named after the Anatolian saint Haji Bektash Wali (d. 1271). The community is currently led by ...

order, lived in the area in the 14th century and is commemorated by the town's current name and in an annual festival. His tomb known as the

Hajibektash complex The Haji Bektash Veli complex ( tr, Hacıbektaş Külliyesi) is an Alevi Cultural Monument of the Republic of Turkey, located in Hacıbektaş, Nevshehir province. It was built in the 13th century as a teqe ''(dergâh)'' of the Sufi saint Haji ...

is located near the center of town in his former monastery, now a museum, and is a site of pilgrimage for

Alevi Alevism or Anatolian Alevism (; tr, Alevilik, ''Anadolu Aleviliği'' or ''Kızılbaşlık''; ; az, Ələvilik) is a local Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Alevi Islamic ( ''bāṭenī'') teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, w ...

and

from throughout Turkey and the world.

Villages

* Köşektaş

Notes

References

* * *

External links