Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Historical Inn hosts the professions facing extinction

Historical Inn hosts the professions facing extinction

In Konya, traditional handicrafts facing extinction are withstanding against time in Gevraki Inn which dates back to Ottomans.



The place was built by Gevraki Hacı Abdülkadir Efendi, who lived between 1831-1903 and was the mufti of Konya, in the Meram district. It was used as a madrasa, inn and workplace in the past, but now, it hosts professions such as saddlery, felting, forging and tinsmithing which resist the time.


The historical inn in the Şükran neighborhood takes place in the center of the culture of ahi-order. Masters, who are the last representatives of their professions and nearly centenarians, are trying to keep up in this inn with the help of ahi-order.


The authentic workplaces, which are single-storey, with a wooden door and firebricks, are among modern buildings and are becoming frequent destinations for photographers who want to shoot professions facing extinction.


The veterans of the inn are still making a great effort for some small businesses in order to make a living because their customers are decreasing day by day due to the developing technology and industry.


"THE INN SHOULD BE RENOVATED"


Harun Bilici, who has been a saddlery for three generations, pointed to the importance of the history of the inn. He expressed that "Gevraki Hodja used to be here. The governor then devoted the inn to him and told him to 'educate children, teach science, build workplaces and rent them to earn a living'. This inn is important for both us and Konya. This inn should be renovated."


“NOTHING REPLACES THE PAST"


Galip Şapçıoğlu, 82, has been dealing with felting for more than fifty years and he said that they are trying to keep the professions facing extinction alive in this inn but they can't replace the past. He drew attention to the issue that there is nobody to keep up the profession and he said that “as we do not have any subsequent, these kinds of professions have come to an end. We are diminishing one by one. There used to be more than eighty craftsmen. There is no future here. This place is going to be ruined. Our time is also up. We are going to be ruined, too." 


A master of tinsmithing of the inn, Mehmet Derviş said "This inn is our home. We want this place to be alive but we do not know what will happen in the future. If this place is renovated, everybody can go on with their professions and these professions will keep up. We want to earn our living.” Derviş emphasized that although he has had a hard time making ends meet, he is going on with his profession with passion.


İsmet Derman, 83, has been dealing with forging and said that some villagers prefer the inn for small jobs that they can't get done in the industrial zone. Derman stated that he has been doing this profession for 64 years and he also said that “only carriages used to be made here. When they disappeared, we had to find a new job for ourselves. We make rings for breeders to fasten their animals. We deal with some types of forging and welding jobs. This place is about history. However, if the municipality gives us a new place and a chance to keep up our professions, it will be a great favor for us. The craftsmen here do the small jobs for the villagers. The villagers can't go to the industrial zone and get their plough fixed in a factory."