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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Nov 25 2012
Rediscovering Niksar a forgotten Turkish capital
One of the interesting things about Turkey that tends to go
uncommented is the way the country is studded with towns, villages and
even abandoned settlements that were at one time the capital of
powerful Anatolian kingdoms.
Some of the towns are well known -- think, for example, of Bursa and
Edirne, both of them Ottoman capitals before Constantinople (Ä°stanbul)
stole their thunder. Then think of Konya, one-time capital of the
Selçuk Sultanate of Rum. Others, however, go less commented -- think
of Karaman, from 1275 to 1483 the capital of the KaramanoÄ?lu Beylik
(princedom); of Becin, from 1260 to 1424 the capital of the MenteÅ?e
Beylik; of Birgi and Selçuk that took turns as capitals of the
AydınoÄ?lu Beylik in the 14th century; or of Kozan which, as Sis, was
once the capital of Armenian Cilicia. Yet other towns experienced
their moments in the sun in the far more distant past -- think, for
example, of Amasya, capital of the Pontic Kingdom until about 183
B.C., or of Van, as Tushpa the capital of the Urartian kingdom in the
ninth century B.C.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it's by way of introducing
Niksar, a small Central Anatolian town that now languishes in
obscurity even though it was, from 1077 to 1117, the capital of the
newly formed DaniÅ?mend Kingdom, an offshoot of the wider Selçuk
Empire. And if there's the one thing of which you can be certain it's
that any Turkish settlement that was at one time a capital is bound to
have enough historic monuments in it to justify a diversion from any
planned itinerary.
Melik GümüÅ?tekin Ahmed (DaniÅ?mend) Gazi's burial place
Unfortunately, not a lot is known about Melik GümüÅ?tekin Ahmed
(DaniÅ?mend) Gazi, the man who put Niksar on the map. History is
silent, for example, on where or when he was born, although it does
relate how he rose to prominence after the decisive Battle of
Manzikert (north of Lake Van) in 1071 when the troops mustered by the
great Selçuk leader Alp Arslan routed those of the Byzantines, thereby
opening the way to Selçuk occupation of most of Central Anatolia.
DaniÅ?mend Gazi himself seized Tokat, Sivas and Niksar, although
alongside Sultan Kılıç Arslan I he then faced defeat by the troops of
the First Crusade at the Battle of Dorylaeum in 1097. To make up for
this disaster he captured one of the Crusader leaders, Count Bohemund
of Tarento, in 1100, keeping him prisoner at Niksar for three years
before riding south to capture Malatya (Melitene) in 1103. Just one
year later he was being laid to rest in the town that had become his
capital.
Today DanıÅ?mend Gazi's tomb is the most obvious reason to visit
Niksar. It can be found in a quiet, wooded cemetery at the top of a
very steep hill where it still serves as a popular pilgrimage
destination. Nearby stand the tombs of members of the even more
obscure TacettinoÄ?ulları family who founded yet another beylik
(emirate) in the area in the 14th century, although recent restoration
has done nothing to improve their appearance. More inviting is the
untouched kümbet (tomb) that houses the remains of Aslan Kutalmıs, a
son of Süleyman Å?ah and thus a distant ancestor of the first Ottoman
rulers. Near it stands a poignant memorial placed by the grieving
parents of two of the victims of the 1999 earthquakes.
Niksar Kalesi and the Ulu Camii
Niksar's other main claim to fame is a castle that crowns a second
equally steep hill. Banners around town suggest that it's Turkey's
second largest castle although this would probably come as news to
other similarly large fortifications such as the castle at
Å?ebenkarahisar. No matter -- much work has been done on it recently
and although this tends to have diminished any appearance of great age
the castle is still a great place to come to get your bearings and
look down on a town of red-tiled roofs which is still hanging on to
much of its Ottoman fabric. Within the walls are the battered remains
of an old hamam (Turkish bath) as well as the YaÄ?ithane Medresesi, a
building dating back to 1157 that now houses a cafe and restaurant
with spectacular views. For the time being Niksar has no actual museum
so the castle provides a handy home not only for several tea gardens
but also for all sorts of scraps of masonry that testify to the town's
pre-DaniÅ?mend history.
Heading down from the castle, you come to its outer walls, which are
far more impressive for having been more gently restored. Near one of
the gates you'll be amazed to see the entire lid of a Roman
sarcophagus left over from the days when Niksar was Neocaesarea
pressed into service as building material.
Immediately across the road and down a steep flight of steps sits
Niksar's Ulu Camii, a typically Selçuk-style low-slung building with a
colonnaded portico and a single minaret. Dating back to 1145 and
commissioned by one Çepnizade Hasan Bey, it's one of Anatolia's oldest
large mosques, which makes it all the more of a shame that it's
usually kept locked.
Urban renewal Niksar-style
Its ancient history aside, Niksar has recently rediscovered its more
recent Ottoman past in the shape of a heritage of old wooden houses,
many of them now being restored with the help of Orta Karadeniz
Kakınma Ajansı (OKA), the development agency for the Central Black Sea
region. A couple now house lovely teahouses, the Adalı'nın Kahvehanesi
and the Hamdi ÇavuÅ? Kahvehanesi, overlooking the dry bed of a river
that once flowed through the town, while a miniature replica now
straddles the riverbed and provides a home for a women's handicrafts
outlet. But the finest of all is the TaÅ? Bina KonaÄ?ı (Stone House
Mansion), a 19th-century city-center mansion with fine and colorful
wooden fittings that is being restored with the intention of turning
it into a hotel.
Not far away is another building that is the town's pride and joy, the
TaÅ?mektep, a small porticoed building in grey and white stone that
served as the town's primary school in the 19th century. Right beside
it is the magnificent Hükümet KonaÄ?ı that now houses the local
government. Built between 1905 and 1907, it's a fine example of the
style called First National Architecture and forms a picturesque
grouping with the old schoolhouse. It was in front of here in June
1919 that a meeting was held to protest against the Greek occupation
of Smyrna (Ä°zmir), a fact now proudly advertized around town.
A double flight of stairs leads up to the Hükümet KonaÄ?i and in
between them can be seen the ÇarÅ?ı ÇeÅ?mesi, one of many fine fountains
that still dot Niksar. Dating back to the 19th century, it
incorporates stonework probably carved by a 13th-century Selçuk
sculptor, but this is as nothing to the Lülecizade KardeÅ?ler ÇeÅ?mesi
which reuses the lid of another Roman sarcophagus, this time adorned
with tiny carvings of a shepherd with his sheep and of a man milking a
cow. This fountain can be found beside the ÇöreÄ?i Büyük Camii, dating
back to the 13th or 14th century and itself interesting for the
unusual carving of a deer at rest that sits above the main entrance.
How to get there
Niksar is easily accessible by minibus from Tokat's town-center local
bus station; there are plenty of services, making a day trip easy.
However, you might want to check the time of the last service back and
make a reservation if you want to spend the night in Tokat.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-299188-rediscovering-niksar-a-forgotten-turkish-capital.html
Nov 25 2012
Rediscovering Niksar a forgotten Turkish capital
One of the interesting things about Turkey that tends to go
uncommented is the way the country is studded with towns, villages and
even abandoned settlements that were at one time the capital of
powerful Anatolian kingdoms.
Some of the towns are well known -- think, for example, of Bursa and
Edirne, both of them Ottoman capitals before Constantinople (Ä°stanbul)
stole their thunder. Then think of Konya, one-time capital of the
Selçuk Sultanate of Rum. Others, however, go less commented -- think
of Karaman, from 1275 to 1483 the capital of the KaramanoÄ?lu Beylik
(princedom); of Becin, from 1260 to 1424 the capital of the MenteÅ?e
Beylik; of Birgi and Selçuk that took turns as capitals of the
AydınoÄ?lu Beylik in the 14th century; or of Kozan which, as Sis, was
once the capital of Armenian Cilicia. Yet other towns experienced
their moments in the sun in the far more distant past -- think, for
example, of Amasya, capital of the Pontic Kingdom until about 183
B.C., or of Van, as Tushpa the capital of the Urartian kingdom in the
ninth century B.C.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it's by way of introducing
Niksar, a small Central Anatolian town that now languishes in
obscurity even though it was, from 1077 to 1117, the capital of the
newly formed DaniÅ?mend Kingdom, an offshoot of the wider Selçuk
Empire. And if there's the one thing of which you can be certain it's
that any Turkish settlement that was at one time a capital is bound to
have enough historic monuments in it to justify a diversion from any
planned itinerary.
Melik GümüÅ?tekin Ahmed (DaniÅ?mend) Gazi's burial place
Unfortunately, not a lot is known about Melik GümüÅ?tekin Ahmed
(DaniÅ?mend) Gazi, the man who put Niksar on the map. History is
silent, for example, on where or when he was born, although it does
relate how he rose to prominence after the decisive Battle of
Manzikert (north of Lake Van) in 1071 when the troops mustered by the
great Selçuk leader Alp Arslan routed those of the Byzantines, thereby
opening the way to Selçuk occupation of most of Central Anatolia.
DaniÅ?mend Gazi himself seized Tokat, Sivas and Niksar, although
alongside Sultan Kılıç Arslan I he then faced defeat by the troops of
the First Crusade at the Battle of Dorylaeum in 1097. To make up for
this disaster he captured one of the Crusader leaders, Count Bohemund
of Tarento, in 1100, keeping him prisoner at Niksar for three years
before riding south to capture Malatya (Melitene) in 1103. Just one
year later he was being laid to rest in the town that had become his
capital.
Today DanıÅ?mend Gazi's tomb is the most obvious reason to visit
Niksar. It can be found in a quiet, wooded cemetery at the top of a
very steep hill where it still serves as a popular pilgrimage
destination. Nearby stand the tombs of members of the even more
obscure TacettinoÄ?ulları family who founded yet another beylik
(emirate) in the area in the 14th century, although recent restoration
has done nothing to improve their appearance. More inviting is the
untouched kümbet (tomb) that houses the remains of Aslan Kutalmıs, a
son of Süleyman Å?ah and thus a distant ancestor of the first Ottoman
rulers. Near it stands a poignant memorial placed by the grieving
parents of two of the victims of the 1999 earthquakes.
Niksar Kalesi and the Ulu Camii
Niksar's other main claim to fame is a castle that crowns a second
equally steep hill. Banners around town suggest that it's Turkey's
second largest castle although this would probably come as news to
other similarly large fortifications such as the castle at
Å?ebenkarahisar. No matter -- much work has been done on it recently
and although this tends to have diminished any appearance of great age
the castle is still a great place to come to get your bearings and
look down on a town of red-tiled roofs which is still hanging on to
much of its Ottoman fabric. Within the walls are the battered remains
of an old hamam (Turkish bath) as well as the YaÄ?ithane Medresesi, a
building dating back to 1157 that now houses a cafe and restaurant
with spectacular views. For the time being Niksar has no actual museum
so the castle provides a handy home not only for several tea gardens
but also for all sorts of scraps of masonry that testify to the town's
pre-DaniÅ?mend history.
Heading down from the castle, you come to its outer walls, which are
far more impressive for having been more gently restored. Near one of
the gates you'll be amazed to see the entire lid of a Roman
sarcophagus left over from the days when Niksar was Neocaesarea
pressed into service as building material.
Immediately across the road and down a steep flight of steps sits
Niksar's Ulu Camii, a typically Selçuk-style low-slung building with a
colonnaded portico and a single minaret. Dating back to 1145 and
commissioned by one Çepnizade Hasan Bey, it's one of Anatolia's oldest
large mosques, which makes it all the more of a shame that it's
usually kept locked.
Urban renewal Niksar-style
Its ancient history aside, Niksar has recently rediscovered its more
recent Ottoman past in the shape of a heritage of old wooden houses,
many of them now being restored with the help of Orta Karadeniz
Kakınma Ajansı (OKA), the development agency for the Central Black Sea
region. A couple now house lovely teahouses, the Adalı'nın Kahvehanesi
and the Hamdi ÇavuÅ? Kahvehanesi, overlooking the dry bed of a river
that once flowed through the town, while a miniature replica now
straddles the riverbed and provides a home for a women's handicrafts
outlet. But the finest of all is the TaÅ? Bina KonaÄ?ı (Stone House
Mansion), a 19th-century city-center mansion with fine and colorful
wooden fittings that is being restored with the intention of turning
it into a hotel.
Not far away is another building that is the town's pride and joy, the
TaÅ?mektep, a small porticoed building in grey and white stone that
served as the town's primary school in the 19th century. Right beside
it is the magnificent Hükümet KonaÄ?ı that now houses the local
government. Built between 1905 and 1907, it's a fine example of the
style called First National Architecture and forms a picturesque
grouping with the old schoolhouse. It was in front of here in June
1919 that a meeting was held to protest against the Greek occupation
of Smyrna (Ä°zmir), a fact now proudly advertized around town.
A double flight of stairs leads up to the Hükümet KonaÄ?i and in
between them can be seen the ÇarÅ?ı ÇeÅ?mesi, one of many fine fountains
that still dot Niksar. Dating back to the 19th century, it
incorporates stonework probably carved by a 13th-century Selçuk
sculptor, but this is as nothing to the Lülecizade KardeÅ?ler ÇeÅ?mesi
which reuses the lid of another Roman sarcophagus, this time adorned
with tiny carvings of a shepherd with his sheep and of a man milking a
cow. This fountain can be found beside the ÇöreÄ?i Büyük Camii, dating
back to the 13th or 14th century and itself interesting for the
unusual carving of a deer at rest that sits above the main entrance.
How to get there
Niksar is easily accessible by minibus from Tokat's town-center local
bus station; there are plenty of services, making a day trip easy.
However, you might want to check the time of the last service back and
make a reservation if you want to spend the night in Tokat.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-299188-rediscovering-niksar-a-forgotten-turkish-capital.html