An example of foundation culture in Aksaray: The Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey Mosque Foundation (19th century)

In general, the foundation is people's spending some or all of their properties in order to get the sake of Allah. With this thought, many new foundations were established in Aksaray in 19th century and a considerable part of the foundations that were established in previous periods continued their activities in these years. The incomes of the foundations geneally consisted of the share of the tithe obtained from the sale of wheat, barley, rye, vetch and incomes from greenhouses, beehives, red dye. Besides, rents obtained from places like vineyards, gardens, mills, inns and shops were among the incomes of the foundation. Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey Mosque, which has a historical importance for Aksaray, was built during the Anatolian Seljuk State and manages to come up to this day with various repairs in the following years. This mosque is mentioned as Karamanoğlu Ibrahim Bey Mosque Karamanoğlu Mosque and Grand Mosque in the archive records. In the 19th century, trustee, imam, orator, muezzin and ferrash were serving in this mosque. Generally these dues were paid a fee of between half akches and two akches per day, as well as certain shares of the foundation's annual income. The revenues of the Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey Mosque Foundation mostly consist of the rents money obtained from the villages and the arable fields of Aksaray, such as Rumdiğin, Sorsoy, Göstük and Dadasun as well as rent income obtained from some localities. With the revenues obtained, the salaries of the people in charge of the mosque were paid and the expenses of repair, rug, mat, lighting of the mosque were met. Science Code : 116114 Key Words : Aksaray, Foundation, Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey Mosque Foundation, 19th Century. Page Number : 171 Supervisor : Faculty Member Selahattin SATILMIŞ of the people in charge of the mosque were paid and the expenses of repair, rug, mat, lighting of the mosque were met.