Abdal Murad Mosque and Tomb
Abdal Murad Mosque and Tomb
Abdal is a rank in Islamic mysticism and was commonly called colonizer dervishes. According to Belîğ, the owner of the Güldeste Vefatname Book, Abdal Murad was one of the forty abdals who came to Bursa from Bukhara before the conquest of Bursa. He had helped Orhan Gazi during the conquest of Bursa (1326). Then, he was buried where his tomb is located today when he passed away after the conquest. It is said that his huge sword and his snake-shaped bronze mace, which are the subject of the legends, were found in the tomb in the 17th century. But, his sword and his mace disappeared in the late 19th century. The information given by Hasluck about the sword based on European travelers is different from the information given by Belîğ and Evliya Çelebi about the sword.
Evliya Çelebi tells in his book that Orhan Gazi donated more than a thousand copper pots to the dervish lodge built by Orhan Gazi in the name of Abdal Murad, and that the area around the Tekke was a recreation spot in the past. He also says that the tekke had Bektashi dervishes at that times. Neither in Âşıkpaşazâde and Şekāik Translation, nor in Alî and Hodja Sâdeddin, there is no connection between Abdal Murad Hacı Bektâş-ı Velî. Abdal Murad Tekke continued its existence as the Bektashi lodge until the beginning of the 20th century. With these evidences, before the second half of the 17th century, the lodge must had been under the rule of Bektashi dervishes. Today only the remains of the tomb and lodges are on the upper part of the lime quarry above Alacahırka Neighbourhood.
