Timeturk | Kaaba Covers and Memories on the Way to Kaaba Exhibition - 12/04/2022 01:02:26

The 'Kaaba Covers and Memories on the Way to Kaaba Exhibition' prepared by collector Bekir Kantarcı met with art lovers.

The exhibition, hosted by Esenler Municipality and opened to visitors at the Dr. Kadir Topbaş Culture and Art Center, includes works from the sacred journey of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem from the Ottoman period to the present day.

Bekir Kantarcı said that he first came into possession of the Kaaba cover in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s.

Kantarcı stated that in addition to the outer covers of the Kaaba, which have been black for about 150 years, the belt inscriptions, the covers that are hung in the Kaaba every year and changed every year before Eid al-Adha, the inner covers of the Kaaba that are changed every 30 years, the inner covers of the Ravza-i Mutahhara and the pieces sent to Mecca in the last years when the Ottomans dominated the Hejaz lands are also exhibited in the exhibition.

"It makes us happy to bring these works together with our people"

Pointing out that Muslims enter a spiritual climate with the hajj season that comes after the 3 months and Ramadan, Kantarcı said that the longing for the lands of Hejaz has increased even more as the hajj and umrah visits have become more difficult for the last 2 years.

Kantarcı thanked Esenler Municipality and those who contributed to the preparation of the exhibition, adding that the exhibition can be visited throughout the month of Ramadan.

"Kaaba Covers and Memories on the Way to Kaaba Exhibition"

In the exhibition, which includes Kaaba covers from different periods acquired by collector Bekir Kantarcı from both home and abroad, as well as many memories from pilgrimages in the past, many rare works such as gifts sent to Mecca and Medina from the people of Istanbul, Surre procession chests and ferashet bags placed in these chests are presented to the visitors.

In the exhibition, where the Surre processions, which were the ceremony of sending the Kaaba cover every year in the Ottoman Empire, are narrated with documents and objects, examples of the belt inscriptions that adorned the Kaaba, various medals and documents belonging to the Hejaz Railway, official correspondence documents from the days when the Ottomans ruled the Hejaz, Ottoman-era hajj power of attorney and testimonies also attract attention.

Among the works on display are also a red silk coverlet piece that was among the last covers produced in Mecca during the reign of King Abdulaziz, a green piece produced in Mecca that adorned the walls of the Prophet's tomb in Medina, and many other works.

In the exhibition where selected pieces from the collection are presented with explanations, a 350-year-old ravza cover piece, a dark green Kaaba cover piece from the 17th century early Ottoman period, rare dark navy blue Kaaba covers from the 1850s, oil paintings depicting longing for the Kaaba from the 19th century, glass-bottomed paintings and wooden hilyas with Kaaba miniatures are among the rare pieces exhibited.

News Link: Kaaba Covers and Memories on the Way to Kaaba Exhibition

Author: Timeturk