Çilehane (Hermit’s Cave)

Located in the Fener Altı area of Gallipoli (Gelibolu), the Çilehane consists of a small entrance carved into the rock and a single small chamber. It is the retreat of Yazıcıoğlu Mehmet Efendi. It is not known for certain who carved this hollow. It is called Çilehane (a place of ascetic retreat) because Yazıcızade Mehmet Efendi would withdraw here into seclusion from time to time. It is said that Mehmet Efendi wrote his famous work “Muhammediye” over seven years (1442–1449) in seclusion in this small cave known as the Çilehane.