He has passed away a very short time ago... Among the people living in this world, having a breath taking fight for their daily lives; how many could become aware of this wonderful description ?…

However, our planet earth having a diameter of 12756 kms and a perimeter of 40000 kms, is still very important for us even though it is considered as a small and a hardly seen planet in comparison with the scale of the vast space ... There are so many priviledged cities where those thinkers have been brought up... Some of them have the quality of making a turning point along the journey which is reaching humanity; such as...

Istanbul

and

Damascus …

Istanbul, the biggest city of Turkey, the center of trade, industry and culture…

Its population has reached 13 million so far... The city that has welcomed many civilizations throughout history and wanted to be conquered repeatedly.

Exactly fourteen centuries ago Hz. Mohammad, the Rasul of Allah, had mentioned how the city of Constantinople which had become a sacred ideal for Arabs and Turks would be taken over from the Byzantines, as such:

“One day, Constantinople will be conquered. How wonderful and blessed are the commander of its conquest and his soldiers!”

As it is known, Istanbul was conquered by the Soltan Mehmet ll, the Conqueror, in the year 1453. So, one of the dreams of the Islamic world had become true. Being highly interested in both the settlement and the construction of the city, Mehmet ll had also gained the quality of being the biggest representative of that important mission/war. This conquest had been realized not only with the military forces and financial strength, but also with the help of wisdom and spiritual support.

It was Hz. Aksemseddin who was the advisor and the supporter of Sultan Mehmet ll, the Conqueror. Being one the fundamentals of the Spiritual army, he had helped the Sultan with the incredibly vital tactics that he had given.

According to the rumors, the Conqueror once said about Aksemseddin “Everyone trembles when they see me, but I tremble when I see Akseyh!..”.

Akseyh, whose real name was Sheikh Mehmet Şemseddin Bin Hamza was coming from the family of Sehabettin Sühreverdi. He had a very deep knowledge about Medicine and Religion. He had completed his primary education in Amasia, and then moved to Aleppo. During his journey to Aleppo, in his dream he had seen that Saint/Wali Hacı Bayram was teaching and leading him. As a result he became his novice/follower (mürid). For a period of time, he had started to give lectures in Göynük.

Sultan Murad ll (the father of the Conqueror) was related to Sheikh Hacı Bayram Wali and with the advice of his sheikh , Murad ll assigned Aksemseddin to take care of and educate his son. In this way he became the tutor of the Conqueror.

While besieging Constantinople, Mehmet ll didn’t even get separated from his teacher for a moment and asked for his opinion regarding his every action. Aksemseddin was holding a consultation with the Conqueror continuously and he was strengthening the soldiers in the spiritual sense. With the help of spiritual power, he determined the place of Halid Bin Eba Eyüb-ül Ensari’s grave who had previously attempted to conquer Constantinople and who had died as a martyr while doing so. He also declared that Eyüb-ül Ensari himself had been supporting spirutually the Turkish troops besieging the city. Furthermore, he informed Fatih(the Conqueror) about the exact time and the date of Constantinople’s surrender.

No matter how hard sultan Mehmed ll had insisted his master to stay with him, he moved to a place called Göynük where he had already decided to to settle down and where he died. His tomb is still there.

As Hz. Mohammad had said “Constantinople will be conquered…” the conquest was inevitable. How wonderful and blessed its conqueror was!..

A personality who has shown the way to such a Turkish sovereign as Mehmet ll, the Conqueror. We hope that he would enlighten our ways, too.

Ahmet F. Yuksel