A SUFI ROUTE THROUGH THE MERKEZEFENDI NEIGHBORHOOD

Today’s Zaman
12 October 2009, Monday

Zeytinburnu is a little-known treasure trove of cultural, and particularly religious, history.

If your feet are used to walking down the same streets and through the
same squares, tell them to take you to the neighborhood in Istanbul’s
Zeytinburnu district called Merkezefendi for a change.

Like a second but more modest version of Eyup Sultan, there you will
find a path that has been marked by mysticism. Your first stop en
route to the neighborhood located adjacent to the end of the Topkapi
city walls should be the Panorama 1453 Museum.

Gentlemanly happenings at Merkezefendi

In the Merkezefendi neighborhood, there is a small square where
a mosque, a mausoleum and a cemetery are located on the right-hand
side. Right across is a Neyhane, which is a meeting spot for those who
love the traditional Turkish ney, or reed flute, and on the left is
a small wooden mansion. How is it possible that we haven’t seen this
shady, tree-filled square before? It is not a square that is reached
after passing through very long streets but located in the center of
the district adjacent to the end of the Topkapi city walls. Take about
10 steps, and you come across the well-known Panorama 1453 Museum. But
very few people exiting the museum walk toward Merkezefendi rather
than the Topkapi metro station. When you take a look at the square
from the museum, all you might see is an empty plot of land. That
is because you need sharp eyes and a strong sense of curiosity to
notice the vast "cultural valley" located beyond the land that is
still occupied by jerry-built stores.

The other Zeytinburnu

Far away from the busy complex of streets with their textile stores,
leather shops and closely spaced buildings, there is the "other"
Zeytinburnu near Merkezefendi, which is generally thought of as nothing
more than a station along the tramway route. The other Zeytinburnu
is growing as it rediscovers its lost historical past.

Only 10 years ago, it was a neighborhood that was avoided by many;
today it could be a tourist attraction like Sultanahmet and Eyup
Sultan. If all this talk about Merkezefendi has made you want to visit
the neighborhood, let us tell you what you should expect to see. The
first thing you should do upon arriving at the square is head to
Merkezefendi Mosque and send Merkez Efendi, who was the director of the
DaruÅ~_Å~_ifa (hospital) during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent,
a prayer because the neighborhood you plan to visit was set up out of
respect for him. Surprisingly, the courtyard of the mosque used to be
the site of shanty homes. But a magic hand that wanted to restore the
historical character of the neighborhood had them removed, and now
you’ll find old ladies resting on the benches in the courtyard instead.

Right next to the mosque is a well-kept cemetery decorated with flowers
and tall trees. Notable Turkish historical figures Tamburi Cemil,
Saadettin Kaynak, Kenan Rıfaî and Samiha Ayverdi are buried at
this cemetery. One of the most visible features of the square is the
Neyhane, which is separated from the mosque by a narrow street. For
years, minibuses coming from Topkapı would scrape against the walls
of the centuries-old building that is now the Neyhane. Fortunately
the same magical hand set up a barrier that prevents minibuses from
traveling through the tiny streets and turned the 400-year-old building
into a popular venue that hosts a reed flute master ever Saturday. The
wooden mansion on the right used to be the harem building of the
Merkezefendi complex. It has been restored and will most likely be used
to the square that captivated us upon first sight such as its popular
grilled meat restaurant, a Turkish bath waiting to be restored and
some wooden mansions. Yet the cultural valley does not only comprise
this square. The real surprise is beyond. When you pass the Neyhane
and Merkezefendi Mosque, you come across an empty plot of grassy
land, where many car maintenance and industrial facilities used to be
located. When you walk a bit further you come face-to-face with the
Panorama 1453 Museum. The popularity of the museum, which was opened
within the scope of the culture valley project, far exceeds that of
the neighborhood it is located in. With the museum, the magical hand
has managed to revive hundreds of years of history.

If you look past the dilapidated buildings that will be restored
Ottoman homes in the near future, you will find the Yenikapı
Mevlevihane, or the house of whirling dervishes, quietly waiting for
you. While the restoration of the mevlevihane is still under way, the
majority of it has been completed. Unusual discoveries emerged as the
valley was being created. For example, the mevlevihane did not have a
semahane (the room in which the dervishes actually whirled), the harem
building was discovered under the rubble of shanty houses and half of
the HamuÅ~_an/SusmuÅ~_lar cemetery belongs to a private citizen. As
for what purposes the mevlevihane will be used once the restoration
is completed, that is up to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

If you walk past the Yenikapı Mevlevihane, which for now can only
be observed from the outside, you will enter the greenest part of the
valley known as the Medicinal Plant Garden. Previously a cement plant,
the garden recalls Merkez Efendi’s interest in herbs to cure illnesses
and is an important part of the traditional medicine festival that
has been going on for nearly a decade. The festival was held in June
this year, and Merkez Efendi’s famous mesir macunu (a spicy paste
made using 41 herbs which is supposed to restore health, youth and
potency) was served during the event. It is clear that some degree of
cultural awareness has kezefendi neighborhood. But don’t wait for next
June. Regardless of rain, snow or sleet, you must visit Merkezefendi
and see how dreams come true.

Zeytinburnu’s cultural image improving

The cultural valley project, focused on the Merkezefendi neighborhood,
encompasses a 240 hectare area that starts from the edge of the Topkapi
walls and extends all the way to the Zeytinburnu pier. The Istanbul
Metropolitan Municipality, the General Directorate for Foundations
and the Istanbul Governor’s Office are supporting the project, which
was devised by the late Turgut Cansever 10 years ago. The person in
charge of the project now is Zeytinburnu Mayor Murat Aydin.

Aydin, who accompanied us on our tour of the neighborhood, said
approximately 2,000 structures were destroyed as part of the
project, which is expected to be completed by 2010. Law No. 5366
for the Preservation by Renovation and Utilization by Revitalizing
of Deteriorated Immovable Historical and Cultural Properties,
which went into effect in 2005, has been an immense support for his
endeavors. However, dilapidated workplaces that have benefited from
exemptions in the past and appear to have the right of usage still
pose a problem for the mayor.

The appearance of the valley continues to improve with every newly
restored structure. Aydın, who has undertaken a difficult task,
aims to attract 2 million tourists to the area. He wants people to
not only remember the Bosporus, Sultanahmet and Eyup Sultan when
someone says İstanbul but to also remember Zeytinburnu and Topkapı
as well. In addition, Merkezefendi is not just a place touched by
mysticism, it is also a destination for faith tourism with a spring
held as holy by some Greek Orthodox practitioners, a Greek Orthodox
church and Armenian cemeteries.