Tekkeköy

History

In 1941, studies conducted in Tekkeköy and surrounding regions by archeologists Prof. Dr. Tahsin Özgüç and Prof. Nimet Özgüç, and led by Kılıç Kökten, have found that the district has been used as a settlement since the Paleolithic era. Located south of the current district center, these settlements date back to c. 600,000 – 100,000 BC. Archeological studies done in the district have also revealed remains from the Hittite and Phrygian eras. These lands were included in the Pontus Empire in the mid 3rd century BC and later were seized by the Roman, the Byzantine and the Anatolian Seljuk empires respectively. When the Seljuk Empire entered Anatolia, they sent the great Turkish Veli Sheikh Zeynuddin to this important area and established an Islamic lodge (tekke) in order to convert the locals to Islam. Sheikh Zeynuddin, who is thought to have lived c. 1250-1330, cared for the travelers, the poor, and ones in need. It is said that the name Tekkeköy is rooted in that very lodge, as the literal translation for tekke is "holyman's lodge". In 1399, the Ottomans gained reign over Tekkeköy but briefly lost the land to the Kubatoğulları clan in 1402 following the Battle of Ankara. However, the area became Ottoman territory once again in 1419 through Celebi Mehmet. Turks and local Greeks (Rum) peacefully co-existed here during the Ottoman era until the Lausanne Treaty, which required the Turks in Western Thrace and Balkans (especially Thessaloniki, Greece and surrounding regions) to swap places with Greeks in the area. As a result, the inhabitants of Tekkeköy today fall into three main categories: Locals, immigrants from the west, and the exchange population who managed to preserve their cultural heritage. Furthermore, the Arabian cemetery in Tekkeköy dated back to the 1800s…