Muhammad Maarifi Mosque
Muhammad Maarifi Mosque (Turkish: Maarifi Sultan Cami) is a historical mosque in Kartal district of Istanbul, Turkey, which was once a Rifa'i Tekke.[1]
The area of the mosque was a khanqah of Rufai order which was built by Muhammad Maarifi since 1818. The khanqah was damaged after the 1894 earthquake but it was restored just after. By the republic reforms at 1925, khanqahes in Turkey has been banned and the facility was turned into a house. Since 1940 the building was collapsed except the worshipping and the tomb parts. Since 1964, the building was started to be repaired, since 1976, the building was turned into a mosque. Since 1980, a minaret and a sadirvan was built over the mosque.[2]
Muhammed Maarifi
Muhammad Maarifi, a descendant of the prophet Muhammad, was born in Edirne (some say Egypt), who came and settled in Kartal during the late Ottoman period, where he founded the Maarifiyye Rifa'i Sufi order. When he died, a 'Türbe' (mausoleum) was built over his grave. The Maarifi order did not spread much outside of Istanbul, but there were at least two other Maarifi Tekke's, one in Kartal and another on the European side of the city.
