Merkez Efendi was the popular nickname of Musa bin Muslihiddin bin Kılıç (1463–1552), an Ottoman

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of reli ...

and

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

. He is also credited as the founder of "

Mesir macunu Mesir Macunu () is a traditional Turkish sweet associated with the city of Manisa. Earlier versions of Mesir macunu were not sweet, but rather spicy in flavor. Macun is a sweet Turkish confectionery toffee paste that originated from spicy prepa ...

", a therapeutic paste believed to have cured mental diseases amongst many other benefits.

Life

Musa bin Muslihiddin bin Kılıç was born in Akçaköy (then known as Sarımahmutlu) in

Buldan Buldan is a town and a district of Denizli Province in the inner Aegean Region of Turkey. Buldan district area neighbors to the east and the south three other districts of the same province, namely Güney, Akköy and Sarayköy, and to the west ...

district of

Denizli Province Denizli Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey in Western Anatolia, on high ground above the Aegean coast. Neighbouring provinces are Uşak to the north, Burdur, Isparta, Afyon to the east, Aydın, Manisa to the west and Muğla to the south. ...

. His father's name was Mustafa. He travelled to

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

in 1478 and to

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

in 1493 to study religion. His tutor was Sünbül Efendi, founder of a branch of the

Khalwati The Khalwati order (also known as Khalwatiyya, Khalwatiya, or Halveti, as it is known in Turkey) is an Islamic Sufi brotherhood (''tariqa''). Along with the Naqshbandi, Qadiri, and Shadhili orders, it is among the most famous Sufi orders. The ...

sufi order. During the reign of

Ottoman Sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its hei ...

Selim I Selim I ( ota, سليم الأول; tr, I. Selim; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute ( tr, links=no, Yavuz Sultan Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite last ...

(r. 1512–1520), he was sent to Manisa to serve in the külliye, the religious buildings complex of Sultan Selim’s concubine

Hafsa Sultan Hafsa Sultan ( ota, حفصه سلطان, "''Young lioness''"; or before – 19 March 1534), also called Ayşe Hafsa Sultan, was a concubine of Selim I and the first Valide Sultan of the Ottoman Empire as the mother of Suleiman the Magnificent. Dur ...

. In 1529, he returned to İstanbul as the successor of Sünbül Efendi.Islam Encyclopaedia
/ref> He maybe briefly married to a Selim I's daughter Şah Sultan. He died in 1552. He had three children by his first marriage: two sons Derviş Çelebi and Ali Çelebi, and a daughter Ümmü Hatun.

Mesir

Merkez Efendi is credited as the creator of "

", a gum-like paste, which he prepared mixing 40 to 45 different herbs and spices. He used to medicate the patients having mental disease in the mental hospital of Manisa ( tr, Manisa Bimarhanesi) he was the chief physician of mesir macunu.İslan İhsan page
/ref> But Raşit Öngören from the Islam Encyclopedia finds this claim implausible. Nevertheless, he is popularly associated with the creation of mesir macunu. During the "Mesir Macunu Festival" held annually on 22 March, a symbolic Merkez Efendi figure throws down mesir from the şerefe (balcony) of a

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

in Manisa on the crowd.

Legacy

Recently, a new secondary municipality and ilçe in

Denizli Denizli is an industrial city in the southwestern part of Turkey and the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river Büyük Menderes, where the plain reaches an elevation of about . Denizli is located in the country's Aegean Region. ...

was named

Merkezefendi Merkezefendi is a new intracity district and second level municipality in Denizli Province, Turkey. According to Law act no 6360, all Turkish provinces with a population more than 750000, were declared metropolitan municipality. The law also crea ...

in his honor. In Zeytinburnu ilçe (district) of Istanbul, there is a neighborhood named Merkezefendi and a cemetery named

Merkezefendi Cemetery The Merkezefendi Cemetery ( tr, Merkezefendi Mezarlığı) is a burial ground situated in Merkezefendi neighborhood of Zeytinburnu district on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. The neighborhood and the cemetery are named after Merkez Efendi, ...

. There are public buildings named after him, including a State Hospital, and a vocational and technical

Anatolian High School Anatolian High School, or Anadolu High School ( tr, Anadolu Lisesi), refers to public high schools in Turkey that admit their students according to high nationwide standardized test (LGS) scores, though this is not required for entering all Anatol ...

in Manisa, as well as a primary school in Istanbul. The Municipality of Zeytinburnu organizes a Medicine Festival bearing his name.

References

{{reflist, 30em, refs= {{cite news , url=http://www.milliyet.com.tr/Mesir-macunu-faydalari--mesir-macunu-icinde-neler-var--molatik-7817/ , newspaper=

Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a Turkish daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 ...

, title=Mesir macunu faydaları, mesir macunu içinde neler var? , author=Orman, Turcel , date=2018-04-30 , language=tr , accessdate=2018-07-14 {{cite web , url=http://www.zeytinburnu.istanbul/Fotograf-Galerisi-Merkezefendi-Tip-Festivali , publisher=Zeytinburnu Belediyesi , title=Merkezefendi Tıp Festivali , language=tr , accessdate=2018-07-15 {{cite web , url=http://merkezefendidh.saglik.gov.tr/ , publisher=Sağlık Bakanlığı , title=Manisa Merkezefendi Devlet Hastanesi , language=tr , accessdate=2018-07-15 {{cite web , url=http://merkezefendi34.meb.k12.tr/ , publisher=Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı , title=İSTANBUL ZEYTİNBURNU Merkezefendi İlkokulu , language=tr , accessdate=2018-07-15 {{cite web , url=http://www.merkezefendimtal.meb.k12.tr/ , publisher=Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı , title=MANİSA YUNUSEMRE Merkez Efendi Mesleki ve Teknik Anadolu Lisesi , language=tr , accessdate=2018-07-15 1463 births People from Buldan Ottoman Sufis Sunni Sufis 16th-century physicians from the Ottoman Empire 1552 deaths History of Manisa