Sunday, May 3, 2026 Guzelyurt mosque, Caravan Serai, Rumi Tomb
Turkiye has a strict separate of church and state, or in this case, mosque and state. Yet, the government runs the school for imams, and determines where a particular imam will serve, as well as paying them a government salary. Although this would seem to be a contradiction, it is actually a method to ensure that the religious institutions do not gain too much power over the government.
We visited with the imam of a small mosque in the village of Guzelyurt. He was 29 years old, married, and had just had a baby girl. He was very gracious and explained the nature of his job and his education. He had gone to the imam vocational school during his early education, then to the university. Twelve years of school is compulsory for everyone in Turkiye, but you can specialize in some vocations during that time. He followed in his father’s path and became an imam. It is his responsibility to lead all the prayers and give the weekly sermon. This would not seem like much, but the prayers are done 5 times daily and vary sometimes in exact timing. Also, it makes it very difficult for him to have a social life and spend time with his family. He also conducts weddings and funerals. Civil weddings are required before a service can be conducted in a mosque.
It was interesting to learn that there
is no special training or ceremony to become Muslim. You must only acknowledge one God, and you can
call yourself Muslim. Of course, to be a
good Muslim, you must follow the 5 pillars of Islam: Pray 5 times daily, acknowledge one God and
his prophets and angels, give alms to the poor, observe Ramadan, and make a
pilgrimage to Mecca once in your life if your health and income allow.
Some Muslims observe all of these, some not so much. There are also Muslims who live a mostly secular life.
Yaren told us a story about an imam who came out as an atheist. He was fired from his job. But since his job was in essence a state job, and he did the job by leading the prayers and carrying out all of the duties, he sued and actually got his job back!
The mosque, although small, was quite
lovely.
Before we left, the imam (his name is Achmed) recited a short prayer. Muslim prayers are actually sung. He had a beautiful clear voice. It made me wonder what happens if an imam has a horrible voice and can’t carry a tune. Does he even make it out of imam school?
At the little family run café where we had lunch, there were also some items for sale. I saw the same Turkish coffee that we have in the pantry at home. But I also saw apple tea and pomegranate tea. I have had both in Turkiye and they are sooooo good! I bought two of each then wondered how to get them into my already too-full suitcase. I finally settled on taking out all of the teabags (thankfully individually packaged) and putting them into quart ziplock bags. These were much flatter and settled nicely in with the other goodies.
Across from the café was the caravan
serai. The path we have been traveling
is along the old Silk Road originating in China. Caravans would travel this road for about
20-25 miles a day and would need a safe place to rest. These lodgings provided a safe stop for both
humans and animals and also served as fortresses in times of war.
In summer, travelers could camp out in
the courtyard.
But in winter, or if conditions warranted, entire groups, along with their animals, would be lodged in the cavernous interior. (The carpets are only for display; the space doubles as a museum)
Note the arches. They are not the rounded Roman arches, nor
the peaked Gothic arches. These are just
a little more elongated than a round arch and are actually referred to architecturally
as Turkish arches.
Also, note that the dome overhead is not
corbeled but laid in a spiral pattern, with the stones becoming progressively
smaller.
Travelers could remain at the hostel for 3 days. They could stay longer, but afte 3 days they would have to pay for lodging.
In addition to the lodging areas, there were kitchen, libraries, baths, blacksmiths and other craftsmen, as well as medical facilities.
Because this serai
belonged to a Sultan, there was also a throne room.
In addition, there were places for healing and (of course!) the bath.
Shortly before reaching our hotel, we made a stop at the Tomb of Rumi, who was a famous author and poet, and the founder of the Sufi religion. The Sufis believed that God existed in every particle on earth, and that one must “bury” the self in order to reach God. The whirling dervishes (we will see a performance later) belong to this faith.
It was not just drizzling by now but
actually raining and we walked for a couple of blocks in the rain to reach the
mosque of Rumi. But it was all worth
it. The interior was amazing.
The turbans atop the caskets represent the “tombstone of the Ego”.
--> Let's visit the ancient city of Aspendos
--> Back to Home