A visit to Hasan Sezai Shrine gives us an excellent opportunity to take a closer look at the concept of Sufism as Hasan Sezai was one of the famous Sufi scholars who lived in Edirne. His recently restored mausoleum and adjacent mosque complex are the examples of the successful renovation of the buildings of the highest importance to the Muslim community of the city.

Let us start with a surprising clarification: the term Sufism had not been used by the practitioners of this spiritual movement but by British Orientalists. They intended to separate the aspect of Islam they had found attractive from the negative stereotypes concerning this religion. The Muslims themselves used the original Arabic word taṣawwuf when they discussed the practice of the Sufis.

Putting the vocabulary issues aside, it is time to address the main issue - what the Sufism actually means. Ofter defined as Islamic mysticism, it is a set of religious values, ritual practices and institutions that began very early in the history of Islam. Contrary to popular belief, Sufism is not a distinct sect, but a set of methods of understanding the religion. It has always been an integral part of Orthodox Islam and not a heretic movement.

Islamic mystics belonged to congregations that formed around grand masters who could trace a direct chain of teachers back to Muhammad, the prophet and founder of Islam. These congregations have gathered for spiritual sessions in lodges known as khanqahs, tekkes, or zawiyas. Starting from the 13th century, Sufism developed a flourishing intellectual culture. In many cities, a person or a group of the faithful endowed funds to maintain a lodge and to provide a gathering place for the Sufis. The same fundation could also sponsor a whole complex of buildings, including a soup kitchen, a hotel, and a library.

Hasan Sezai is a perfect example of a scholar, representing the Golden Era of the Sufism. He was born as Hasan bin Ali in the Peloponnese in 1669, at that time situated within the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire. He got his basic education in Greece but then moved on to Istanbul to continue his spiritual training. However, he did not stay there for long because of the dream that told him to go to Edirne and find a lodge master there. The master he met was called Sheikh Muhammed Sırrı Effendi, residing in Aşık Musa Lodge.

He was trained by Sırrı Effendi and other famous sheikhs and scholars until he became a lodge master himself - of the Sezaiyye branch of Gulşeni order in Edirne. Gulşeni was one of the main sects of the Sufis that had developed in Egypt and was later imported to Istanbul and Edirne after the conquest of Egypt by Sultan Selim I. Hasan Sezai is accepted as the founder of Sezaiyye branch of Gulşeni sect in Edirne city. He held this position for almost 40 years, until his death in 1738. His main work a book of mystic poetry called Divan-i Sezai.

He was buried in the shrine situated in the area of the lodge. The mausoleum was only a part of a large complex of religious buildings, referred to as Hasan Sezai Tekkesi among the local inhabitants. Initially, the complex consisted of two shrines, a mosque, a hostel, a soup kitchen, a warehouse, a large vegetable garden and a graveyard. The second shrine of the complex - situated on the northern side, belongs to Hasan Sezai's teachers - Lal-i Mehmet Fenai Effendi and Aşık Musa Effendi. The ablution fountain decorated with arose motif was added to the complex in 1751 by Mustafa Effendi.

Over the centuries, the complex started falling into disrepair. In the beginning of the 21st century, only a minaret of the mosque, two shrines, a fountain and a small cemetery were still visible and the other buildings collapsed. In 2013, the reconstruction of the mosque started, financed by the Edirne District Directorate of Foundations. As a result, the ruined mosque was completely rebuilt from its foundations, on the basis of old photographs. Consequently, in December 2015 the project was completed, and the area of the shrine gained a new look - with paved walkways, a rose garden, and lanterns. The local graveyard has many Ottoman-era tombstones, with a few graves that belong to Gulşeni order members, decorated with their unique headgears. Now, the whole complex is a well-known pilgrimage centre.