His teachings represent a moral understanding that centers on working, producing, and social responsibility beyond individual worship. In this context, Hacı Bayram-ı Veli’s compliance with the advice “sow vetch” (burçak ek), which he received from his sheikh Somuncu Baba and is frequently mentioned in narratives, stands out as a powerful symbol reflecting the essence of Ahilik thought. This advice expresses not only an agricultural directive but also a life attitude based on the sanctity of labor, earning by the sweat of one’s brow, and sharing the earnings with society. Hacı Bayram-ı Veli popularized this understanding in Ankara as a representative of the Ahilik tradition; he pioneered the formation of an organization based on moral principles among tradesmen and craftsmen. Within this framework, he contributed to strengthening the understanding of mutual care and cooperation within the Ahilik tradition; he encouraged thinking about labor-based production together with social balance.
Over time, this set of values was reflected in Ankara’s spatial organization as well as in place names and urban memory. The Ahilik tradition left its mark on the city not only through mosques and masjids but also through neighborhood names, settlement names, and district identities. There are numerous Ahi mosques and masjids established within the framework of Ahilik in the city. Structures such as Ahi Elvan Mosque and Ahi Yakup Mosque functioned not only as places of worship but also as focal points of professional organization, solidarity, and urban life. Furthermore, the transformation of the name Ahi Mesud into Etimesgut over time and the existence of neighborhood and settlement names carrying the name “ahi” show how deeply the Ahilik tradition is embedded in Ankara’s spatial memory. These examples clearly reveal that Ankara gained an identity as an “ahi city” in the Seljuk and early Ottoman periods.
The presence of Hacı Bayram-ı Veli in Ankara deeply affected not only the religious but also the social, economic, and spatial organization of the city. The structure of tradesmen and craftsmen shaped within the Ahilik system sustained Ankara’s trade tradition for a long time; the city presented a unique urban model that considers production and morality together. In this model, the mosque, bazaar, han, and production areas were not disconnected from each other; they gained existence as spaces integrated within the same world of values. In the “Doku Ankara” narrative, vetch (burçak), one of the symbolic equivalents of this integrity, becomes a visual and intellectual expression of the understanding of labor-based production and the morality of sharing, together with the advice “sow vetch” that Hacı Bayram-ı Veli received from Somuncu Baba. In this respect, Hacı Bayram-ı Veli, as a founding threshold point located at the center of Ankara’s spiritual texture, represents one of the invisible but powerful layers determining the city’s identity.
