Balçık Tekkesi Mescidi

Balçık Tekkesi Mescidi is a religious structure from the Ottoman period, located within the boundaries of the Nişanca neighborhood in the Eyüpsultan district of İstanbul, now largely lost and holding the status of a cultural heritage site in ruins.^【1】

^{Dış Görünüm} (Eyüpsultan Belediyesi)

The structure is situated at the corner where Defterdar Caddesi meets Cezeri Kasım Paşa Akar Çeşmesi Sokağı. The mosque and tekke derive their name from the Balçık Pier located approximately 170 meters away.^【2】

According to Evliya Çelebi’s records, there were 250 pottery and earthenware shops on either side of the road in this area, where mud brought from Kağıthane and Sarıyer was dumped, leading to the adoption of the name “Balçık.” Opposite the structure lies the site of the Eyüp Askeri Rüşdiyesi, demolished in 1988, and the Molla Lütfi Türbesi.^【3】

The land on which the mosque stands was originally constructed in 1458 (H. 863) as a Dar’ül-Hadis. The structure, which later fell into ruin, was restored as a mosque in the early 17th century by Grand Vizier Gazi Tiryaki Hasan Paşa. According to Ottoman archival documents and Evkaf Defteri records, the tekke was附属 to the Sokullu Türbesi endowment. In 1835 (H. 1251), by order of Sultan Mahmud II, the building underwent comprehensive repairs, during which an inscription was placed on its western facade.^【4】

Today, only a ruined türbe and the plot of land remain from the original structure; traces of the mihrab on the qibla wall are still discernible. The marble inscription documenting the 1835 restoration is a ten-line poem composed by Safvet Bey. It states that the building was known as the “Hânkâh-ı Sa‘dîyân” (Sa’diyye Dergâh) and was rebuilt “bî-misâl” (unparalleled) by Sultan Mahmud Han. Today, this inscription lies in several fragments next to a grave.^【5】

The first imam of the structure was appointed to Şeyh Mahmud Efendi of the Sünbüllü order, and morning and evening dhikr rituals were performed according to the method of Yakub Efendi, the caliph of Sünbül Sinan. During the 18th century, the sheikhs who served were Şeyh Sulûk’üş-Şeriat Mahmud (d. 1716), Abdullah Efendi (d. 1742), and Abd’ül-Gani Efendi (d. 1788).^【6】

At the beginning of the 19th century, after the sheikhs Abdurrahman Efendi (d. 1810) and Kanbur Şeyh Salim (d. 1819), the leadership passed to Şeyh Sadık Efendi. In 1827, Şeyh Sadık Efendi transferred the tekke for 2000 kuruş to Mehmed Emin Efendi of the Sa’diyye order, thereby transferring the institution from the Uşşakiyye to the Sa’diyye order. The tekke’s official day of ceremony was set as Saturday.^【7】

Tiryaki Hasan Paşa, who restored the mosque, was an Ottoman grand vizier renowned for his defense of Kanije Castle in 1602. He became a son-in-law of the imperial court by marrying a daughter of Sultan III. Mehmed and died in 1612 (H. 1020) while serving as governor of Buda. Several of his relatives are also buried in the türbe beneath the mosque’s mahfil.

Although the site was rediscovered in 1987 following the demolition of the Defterdar Mensucat Factory, today it consists only of a ruined türbe and an empty plot. Numerous graves of sheikhs and family members lie within the türbe structure and beneath the mosque’s mahfil.^【8】