Arduous Journey to Hedjaz: Turkestani Pılgrims, the Caliph and İstanbul (16th -20th Centuries)

This article aims to analyse how the unique religious ritual such as the Muslim pilgrimage the hajj can draw together, politically and culturally, two civilizations with historical ties and commonalities as well as create a mutual interaction Prof. Dr. Sakarya University, alpargu@sakarya.edu.tr. Assist. Prof. Dr. Sakarya University, syazici@sakarya.edu.tr. Assist. Prof. Dr. Sakarya University, fyavuz@sakarya.edu.tr. Mehmet ALPARGU Serkan YAZICI Fikrettin YAVUZ 402 between them. In the 16 century, the Ottoman conquest of the Islamic Holy Lands was the beginning of a new era for the Islamic world. This new situation brought about a novel dimension for the Ottomans and all the Muslim states. The paths of all Muslims who wished to fulfil the sacred duty, the hajj pilgrimage, intersected within the Ottoman domains. Central Asian pilgrims who could not undertake the pilgrimage via Iran due to political problems had to cover almost all of the Ottoman domains from north to south to undertake this ritual. As a result, they became the carriers of culture from Central Asia to Anatolia and from Anatolia to Central Asia.