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“Introduction” in Sacred Spaces + Urban Networks
(Koç University Research Center For Anatolian Civilizations (ANAMED), 2019) Uğurlu, A. Hilal; Yalman, Suzan
What is a sacred space? How do we begin to understand the dynamics between religious belief and architectural development? Pilgrimage accounts for Harran, a renowned ancient city of Upper Mesopotamia, help illustrate important points. These travelers from different religious backgrounds reported on the significance of a site in the city. This location was believed to be the temporary dwelling place of Abraham before he moved to the land of Canaan, as stated in the Old Testament (Gen. 12:4–5). Yet, the site’s sacred associations were not limited to the Abrahamic religions. The city was referred to as “the heathen city” by the Fathers of the Church because of the dominant pagan population. An early Christian pilgrim’s account (ca. 381–84 CE) by Egeria, underlines that the location chosen for the church of the city was the “very spot where the house of Abraham stood.” Moreover, she recorded that the pagan people of the city also venerated the same site, which indicates the multilayered meanings attributed to the same location. Centuries later, when a Muslim pilgrim, al-Harawi (d. 1215), visited Harran, he also recorded a site associated with Abraham. This time, however, instead of a residence, it was a rock that Abraham was believed to have sat on while waiting for his flock. What remains unclear is i f this was another “spot” or if the association with the previous sacred site changed over time.
Philanthropy in the Form of a Hair Strand: Sacred Relics in Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Lands
(Koç University Research Center For Anatolian Civilizations (ANAMED), 2020) Uğurlu, A. Hilal
From the last quarter of the eighteenth century, the caliphal status and the legitimacy of the Ottoman sultans were constantly and increasingly challenged. One of the most effective and powerful tools that they utilized in order to strengthen their diminishing image in the eyes of their subjects was the re-appropriation of sacred places, either by extensive restorations or by demolishing and rebuilding them. While this was not an emergent practice, during the tumultuous moments of the long nineteenth century, these incidents proliferated. Additionally, a sacred network associated with the benevolence and religiosity of the sultans was created by the increasing mobility of the sacred relics of Prophet Mohammad. For instance, hair strands of the Prophet (lihye-i şerif) were sent to different corners of the Ottoman geography by the court. These sacred relics were kept generally in newly built mosques or custom built and repurposed edifices that protected and made its visitation possible. Similarly, in the Capital, visiting these relics became popularized. So much that Abdülmecid I (r.1839-61) ordered the construction of a new imperial mosque (Hırka-i Şerif Camii) at Fatih. Although called a mosque, it was designed specifically for the visitation of the Holy Mantle, as a ziyara. This article investigates the proliferation and circulation of the sacred relics in the nineteenth-century Ottoman lands. It argues that these acts not only aimed to address the religious needs of the subjects but were also expected to infuse the sacredness of these relics to the imperial image.

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