Location and General Character

Yassıçal lies east of Amasya city centre and belongs to the central district. Its second name, Yaylagöl, comes from the pond beside the village and the recreation facilities built around it. The road branches off to the right at the seventh kilometre of the Amasya-Taşova highway and climbs to the village and the facilities. Sources give two figures for the distance to the city centre: about fourteen kilometres for the village and sixteen kilometres for the facilities. The difference probably depends on whether the distance is measured from the village entrance or from the pond. The elevation is recorded in a similar way, as 1,059 metres for the village and 1,050 metres for the facilities. This marked difference in height from the city on the floor of the Yeşilırmak valley makes Yassıçal one of the first places people head for when they want to escape the summer heat.

The surroundings lie in a transition zone where the humid belt facing the Black Sea meets the dry belt of Central Anatolia. The province of Amasya as a whole has a climate between the Black Sea and continental types. Its summers are as dry as continental ones but not as rainy as on the Black Sea, and its winters are not as mild as on the coast but not as harsh as in the interior. The coolness of the higher parts of Yassıçal should be read within this general picture. The heat that is oppressive on the valley floor eases higher up, and the tree cover and the water sharpen the difference.

Today the name Yassıçal calls to mind much more than the facilities by the pond. The village has given its name to a cloth woven in its homes for generations and protected in recent years by a geographical indication. Fedâî Baba, born here in the second half of the nineteenth century, became one of the best-known minstrels of divine love (hak âşığı) in the Amasya region. The village's tomb, mosques and cemevi also show that its religious life has several layers. These sides of Yassıçal, which is known above all as a recreation spot with a cool pond and facilities, are little known to most visitors who come up from the city.

Name and Administrative History

The settlement appears under the name Ebemi in the records of 1928. Botanists' later studies also write Ebemi in parentheses next to Yassıçal, which shows that the old name was known in the region for a long time. In a quatrain by Fedâî Baba, who was born in the village, the name appears as Ebemü: "Fedayi's habit is to praise every place / Our city Amasya, the village of Ebemü / In spring the waters of the streams grow lively / The flood of the Dive runs in full spate." The quatrain shows that the old name did not survive only in official records but lived in the villagers' own speech, and its mention of streams swelling in spring and of the flood of a water called the Dive suggests that the village was known for its springs and streams. No reliable record exists of how and when the name Yassıçal came about.

On 27 February 1976 Yassıçal acquired the status of a municipality (belde) when a municipal organisation was established. Municipal records name İsmail Kanar for the 1977 election, Mehti Kanar for the elections between 1984 and 1999, and İsmail Bünyat for the elections of 2004 and 2009. Population records show the course of the municipal period. The census counted 2,223 people in 1985, 2,355 in 1990 and 2,330 in 2000. In the following years migration reduced the number quickly, to 1,025 in 2013, 915 in 2014 and 856 in 2015. Because the population fell below 2,000, the municipality was abolished in 2013 and the settlement returned to village status. The decline continued afterwards, with 811 people recorded in 2016, 758 in 2017, 777 in 2018, 751 in 2019, 697 in 2020, 655 in 2021 and 610 in 2022. Despite the shrinking population, the settlement remains one of Amasya's frequently mentioned recreation spots thanks to its closeness to the city centre and the facilities around its pond.

The Pond and the Artificial Waterfall

The best-known feature of Yassıçal is its pond, which greets visitors. The shade of the trees at the water's edge offers a cool rest even in the hottest hours of summer. Trees in different shades of green line the pond, which is why Yassıçal Pond is singled out among Amasya's picnic areas as a place where one can see "every shade of green". When light filtering through the trees falls on the still surface of the pond, the surroundings take on an appearance that changes through the day. Walks around the lake and boat trips on the water are also reported.

The artificial waterfall is listed as a separate feature in the description of the facility area. The fall of the water adds a visual and audible freshness to the setting, and its surroundings are suitable for taking photographs and strolling. Older accounts place the waterfall about six and a half kilometres from the centre of the settlement. This suggests that the waterfall is not inside the village but in the upper area where the facilities stand, although no separate document has been found for its exact location.

Yaylagöl Social Facilities

The Yaylagöl Social Facilities, operated by the Yassıçal Municipality, are located in Gölönü Quarter. Their equipment is listed as follows: a one-star, investment-certified hotel, a closed restaurant seating 150 people, a pool with wooden pavilions along its edges, an artificial waterfall, a children's playground, a picnic area, a car park, toilets, football and volleyball pitches, and camping facilities. These amenities make the area especially suitable for families. Children can spend time in the playground while adults rest in the shade of the pavilions, and a picnic cloth spread by the pond turns into the table of the day. Telephone numbers, room counts and operating conditions have changed over the years, so it is necessary to confirm details with the facility itself before a visit.

The high elevation keeps the air cool at the facilities even in summer heat. For this reason Yassıçal suits those who prefer resting in the shade, a quiet afternoon and a meal in the open air to long walks. A few hours spent with birdsong and the murmur of water are enough to leave the pace of the city behind.

Vegetation and Natural Environment

The area between the villages of Yassıçal, Direkli and Abacı was studied in detail in a plant inventory published in 2007 by Arzu Cansaran, Suat Peker and Cengiz Yıldırım of Amasya University. The researchers state that the area is bounded by Sarılar village and the city of Amasya in the west, Fündüklü village in the east, Kuşpınar Hill and the Yeşilırmak in the north, and Sivri Hill and Saraycık village in the south. The area was chosen because it had been little studied and, lying in a transition zone where different phytogeographic regions meet, harbours endemic and varied species.

About 645 plant specimens collected between April and November 2000 were identified, resulting in 379 taxa (371 species) belonging to 56 families and 221 genera. Of these taxa, 44, or 11.6 per cent, are endemic. By phytogeographic region the distribution is as follows: Irano-Turanian elements 51 taxa (13.4 per cent), Euro-Siberian elements 45 taxa (11.8 per cent), Mediterranean elements 35 taxa (9.2 per cent). The remaining 248 taxa (65.4 per cent) are widespread across several regions or of uncertain origin. The families with the most taxa are Asteraceae (47), Fabaceae (38), Lamiaceae (36), Poaceae (31) and Brassicaceae (30). Among genera, Astragalus and Silene lead with eight taxa each, followed by Centaurea with seven.

The authors attribute the first place of Irano-Turanian elements in the area to its position in the transition belt, and also to human influences such as agriculture, grazing and forest use, which increase its steppe character. Steppe plants have spread over southern slopes and degraded forest areas. The presence of Mediterranean elements is explained by the influence of the Yeşilırmak valley; these appear on alluvial soils at low elevation near the valley floor. Chestnut-coloured soils are common in the area, while alluvial and colluvial soils are rare. Geologically the region has a structure that took its final form in the Mesozoic and consists of hard and soft limestone and clayey parts. The collected specimens include black pine (Pinus nigra, var. caramanica), juniper species and moisture-loving plants such as Adiantum capillus-veneris.

A vegetation study of the same area published in 2022 reports that the forest cover consists of a plant association dominated by oriental beech (Fagus orientalis) and a community of Turkey oak (Quercus cerris), while the steppe cover consists of two separate plant associations. In other words, a transition from beech forest to oak communities and then to steppe can be seen within a few kilometres around Yassıçal. The tree cover around the pond is also part of this transition belt.

Religious Life and Ergonaş Baba

Among the known structures of Yassıçal are the Yassıçal Village Central Mosque, a Qur'an course, a cemevi and the Tomb of Ergonaş Baba. The name Ergonaş Baba is also written Erkonaş Baba in some sources, and local tradition remembers him as a well-known saint of the village. No written document has been found about the period in which Ergonaş Baba lived or about his life, so no further detail is given here. A noteworthy clue about the name appears in the information on the lineage of Fedâî Baba, who was born in the village. According to a study based on Abdullah Çelebi, who published Fedâî Baba's divan, the poet's real name was Konaşoğlu Hüseyin, and his father's line went back to Seyyid Bali Ergonaş, who is buried at Uluköy in the district of Taşova. The resemblance between "Konaş" in the family name and the Ergonaş who gave his name to the tomb is striking. Yet the same study places the grave of Seyyid Bali Ergonaş at Uluköy, and no document has been found to explain whether the tomb in Yassıçal is a memorial station (makam) of this figure or belongs to another member of the family.

The legends told about Fedâî Baba's life also shed light on the places of pilgrimage around the village. According to tradition, the young Hüseyin, wishing to visit the saints, went without telling anyone to a place called Büyük Evliya opposite the village, fell asleep while reciting his prayers and there saw the dream through which he entered the path of the minstrel. Another legend tells how he was seen at night performing dhikr at a shrine called Dedelik behind the house of a relative. No written record has been found of the names under which these places are known today or of their exact location; still, the stories show that there were several shrines and saints' graves visited around the settlement. The presence of both mosques and a cemevi in the village points to a religious life that holds different traditions side by side.

Fedâî Baba

The best-known figure Yassıçal produced is the minstrel Fedâî Baba, born in the village in 1855. His father was Konaşoğlu İsmail and his mother Zehra Bacı. As he was the family's only son, his father wanted him to become a madrasa teacher and took care over his education. Hüseyin studied for two years at the Kapıağa Madrasa in Amasya, but according to one account he left the madrasa because he could not bear his teacher's words in praise of Muawiya. He later took lessons from a man named Veli, a descendant of Sheikh Mahmud Veli who used the pen name Derûnî, at Keçeci village in the district of Erbaa in Tokat, and stayed with his spiritual guide for seven years, serving as imam in that village. The Keçeci Baba Ocağı is an influential Alevi-Bektashi religious centre whose reach extends over a wide region taking in Tokat, Amasya, Sivas, Çorum, Samsun and Ordu, and Fedâî Baba is counted among the poets it produced.

The origin of the pen name Fedâî is also linked to a dream. According to the story, the young poet who had fallen asleep at Büyük Evliya was carried in his dream on the back of a great white bird to a distant place, where he was brought before three radiant figures, one of them dressed in green, offered a drink resembling milk and given his pen name. Researchers note that this dream fits the motif of the dream and the drinking of the bade, the cup of divine love, in the minstrel tradition. Fedâî Baba did not play the saz, but he composed poems extempore. He has 252 known poems; some are in the style of divan poetry and some in that of folk poetry, and those in the divan style are heavier in language. Alongside Sufi themes such as the spiritual guide, dhikr, the four gates and divine love, his poems frequently treat love of Ali, the Ahl al-Bayt, the Twelve Imams and Karbala. He also wrote poems on Atatürk and Amasya, counsels addressed to the people, and poems describing the villages and tombs he visited. In one poem he names his homeland thus: "Amasya is our homeland and province / Our longing is Hubuyar Sultan / Our state is known to God / Our longing is Hubuyar Sultan."

Fedâî Baba, who spent his life farming, was known as a wandering minstrel who toured the Alevi-Bektashi villages of the region passing on what he knew. He is said to have guided younger poets such as Engünî, Mevâlî, Ruhanî and Ligarî. One legend about him relates that while resting in the field at sowing time he gave a share of his seed to a dervish who came to him, receiving in return a copy of the Qur'an with other knowledge written in its margins. He married three times, having a son and two daughters by his first wife Gülizar Bacı and a daughter by his second wife Hanife Bacı. In 1934 he took the surname Gümüş, and he died on 26 October 1940 at the age of eighty-five. His poems were published by Abdullah Çelebi in 1991 under the title Amasya'lı Fedayi Baba Divanı. It is also noted that his poems are sometimes confused with those of Fedâî of Zile, who used the same pen name.

Filingirler Quarter

A mosque stands in the quarter of the village called Filingirler, and the village has an association for building and sustaining mosques. During an official visit, Governor Salih Işık inspected the Filingirler Mosque, then came to the village, toured the Tomb of Ergonaş Baba, the cemevi, the Qur'an course and the Central Mosque, and talked with the villagers. He said he had formed favourable impressions of the village and its lower quarter, that fine works had been created there, and that problems would be solved in time. For the drinking water problem of Filingirler Quarter, the Amasya Special Provincial Administration found a new source by drilling in 2020 and brought it to a 100-cubic-metre tank that had earlier been put into sanitary condition, by means of a new pumping station, a 1,600-metre pumping line and a power transmission line. The works were completed and opened for service in September 2021.

The name Filingir also appears in Amasya's older records. Listing the vineyards of the city, Hüseyin Hüsameddin writes that from the head of Kuş Köprü along the north bank of the river came first Bahçeler İçi, then the vineyards called "Filingir, Firingir, Firenkler", and finally the vineyards of Ziyare. The same work relates that the Crusader army which entered Amasya in the Danishmendid period camped "at the place still known as Filingir (the Franks)" and withdrew after staying about three months; Hüsameddin connects the name with this encampment. In the section of the work on poets, it is recorded that Bahçevanzade Cenânî Ali Efendi, after returning to Amasya in 1099 (1687-88), built a small mosque (mescit) and a school "at the place called Filingirler" and endowed his vineyard and garden for the imam and the teacher. The place Hüsameddin mentions appears to have lain among the vineyards stretching east of the city towards Ziyare. No document has been found to show whether it is the same as today's Filingirler Quarter of Yassıçal, or whether Cenânî's mescit can be regarded as a forerunner of the present Filingirler Mosque; the similarity of the names is nonetheless striking.

Yassıçal Çuha and the Weaving Tradition

What has carried the name of Yassıçal beyond the province is the cloth, known as çuha, that the village women wove on their looms for generations. Although the word çuha usually denotes broadcloth, according to the present definition this weaving is produced on looms from coloured cotton yarn, with silk added if desired, using the tahtalı (board) technique. In the past everyday needs such as shirts, sheets, covers and shroud cloth were met with this fabric. Yüksel Kanar, who was born and grew up in the village and is regarded as one of the last masters of the craft, recalls that "weaving was done in every house in our village". Estimates of the tradition's age differ: the local press speaks of a heritage of about 250 years, while an academic study published in 2015 states that the weavings use traditional motifs 150 to 200 years old. Both estimates rest not on a written document but on knowledge handed down within families and on old pieces kept in dowry chests.

Preparing the weaving demands long labour. Three-ply red cotton yarn is wound onto bobbins with a spinning wheel, and the cream-coloured weft yarn is prepared on a separate bobbin. The warp threads are moved up and down by heddles of yarn tied to the pedals, and the shuttle is passed between them. Every eighty heddle threads are called a çile; the start of each çile is marked with coloured pompoms, and the width of the cloth is set by these units. Ten çiles give a warp about fifty centimetres wide, eight çiles a warp thirty-eight to forty centimetres wide. Shirts (göynek) and sheets are woven from eight çiles, covers from seven. In the operation called "raising the board", which forms the motif, the lower and upper threads are separated in threes and passed under and over a flat board; the weaver pulls the board towards her and sets it upright, passes the red yarn through the opening, and then throws the cream weft three times to complete one row of the motif. The result is the geometric ornament known locally as the tahtalı motif, in which two colours repeat in square forms.

Red predominates among the colours; turquoise, blue, green, orange, yellow, purple and pink are also used. Each motif has its own name and meaning: Eminem, Süleyman, Mehmet Dede, Tekke peşkürü, Sinekli, Kara viran, Çift mekik and Deveci kesmesi. According to the master instructors, the Eminem motif expresses a mother's longing for her child and the Süleyman motif expresses resolve. It is said that young girls and married women reflected their feelings and thoughts in these motifs, which for that reason served as a kind of language.

By the early 2000s the weaving had fallen into near oblivion and the looms in the village stood idle. The 2015 study speaks of Yassıçal weaving as a craft no longer produced and on the verge of being forgotten. The revival began with a course opened by the Public Education Centre in the 2006-2007 school year with the support of the Amasya Governorate. The old looms were overhauled, identical ones were built after them, and the motifs began to be woven again on the basis of the pieces Yüksel Kanar had kept in her chest. Her daughter Neşe Aşçı, who learned from her, became a master instructor; in the 2013-2014 school year a course was opened under her direction with twelve women trainees. Different figures are given for the number of women trained: one news report speaks of more than a hundred women contributing to their household income with what they produce, another of more than seventy women reached in the city centre. The products are sold at outlets in the city and at fairs, and they have found new uses such as living-room sets, covers, curtains, bags, clothing and dolls' clothes. In 2019 a master's thesis prepared at Gazi University by Nurten Karabük under the supervision of Hülya Serpil Ortaç examined separately the shuttle-woven textiles of the village and contemporary designs derived from them.

In December 2022, at the village's request, the Amasya Directorate of National Education sent four specially built looms to the village life centre, and after a gap of sixteen years weaving began to be taught again inside the village itself. Among those attending the course were women in their sixties who remembered their elders weaving clothes on these looms when they were children. Meanwhile the geographical indication process was moving forward. Following an application made by the Amasya Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 22 December 2021, Yassıçal Çuha Dokuması was registered on 14 July 2023 under number 1411 as a designation of origin (mahreç işareti). The registration names the province of Amasya as the geographical boundary and requires all stages of production to take place within it. Inspection is carried out once a year, and whenever necessary, by a board of at least five members coordinated by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with experts from the Union of Chambers of Tradesmen and Craftsmen, the Directorate of National Education, the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism and the Public Education Centre.

Amasya's Geographical Setting

To understand Yassıçal one must look at the geography of its province. Amasya is bordered by Tokat in the east, Yozgat in the south, Çorum in the west and Samsun in the north, and it is built on the valley that the Yeşilırmak has carved between the mountains of the Central Black Sea (Canik). The province covers 5,701 square kilometres. Akdağ, Tavşan Dağı, İnegöl Dağı, Kocacık Tepesi, Kırklar Dağı and Ferhat Dağı are its principal heights. It has fertile plains watered by ponds and dams built for irrigation, and its most important natural lake is Borabay. Fish such as pike-perch, carp, pike and sea bass live in the Yeşilırmak and in the ponds. The first settlement at Amasya reaches back to around 5500 BC, and the city has lived through the Hittite, Phrygian, Cimmerian, Lydian, Persian, Roman, Byzantine, Danishmendid, Seljuk, Ilkhanid and Ottoman periods. Joined to Ottoman lands in 1386, the city is also known as the city of princes because of the special interest that sultans and princes showed in it.

Yassıçal sits on a high area outside the valley, on the eastern side of this historic city. The city tour, with its rock tombs along the Yeşilırmak, Harşena Castle and Ottoman buildings, and the nature break Yassıçal offers complement each other. For a visitor who has spent a day in the city, going up to the high ground toward evening and cooling off by the pond is a fitting way to end the trip.

Yassıçal Among Amasya's Recreation Areas

In Amasya's tourism records Yassıçal appears among the recreation areas under the name Yaylagöl Social Facilities. Compared with similar facilities in the records, its position stands out. The facility on the 35th kilometre of the Amasya-Tokat highway, in the municipality of Uygur, lies at 745 metres, within a green area of two thousand square metres, and has a pool, a children's playground, a car park and ten pavilions. Kaynar Gölü, at the 14th kilometre of the same road, is a picnic area consisting of a lake with fish and a food and drink facility. Sarılık, also on the Tokat road, is a day-trip recreation spot thirteen kilometres from the city centre. Terziköy Spa lies thirty-six kilometres from the city centre and serves with a hotel, motel, bungalows, an indoor swimming pool, a restaurant and a park. Çarlayuk on the Merzifon side, Omarca on the Gümüşhacıköy-Hamamözü side and Gökoluk in Merzifon are forest rest areas.

Within the borders of Taşova district there are also water and plateau recreation areas such as Şahin Plateau in Esençay village, Uluköy Dam, Tekke Lake and Baraklı Waterfall. Şahin Plateau began to come to the fore in 2000 with an irrigation pond built by Village Services, and picnic tables and pavilions were added later, making it a recreation area for local people. Uluköy Dam was built by the State Hydraulic Works in 1978 for irrigation. Although its elevation is low, it stays cool in summer, which has made it a favourite of picnickers and anglers. In this list Yassıçal holds a separate place as one of the recreation areas closest to the city and at high elevation. The presence of social facilities offering lodging and meals beside its pond also makes it a wider destination than a simple day-trip picnic area.

Practical Information for Visitors

Thanks to its closeness to the city centre, Yassıçal is easily reached by private car and suits a half-day outing. The road leaves the Amasya-Taşova highway at the seventh kilometre and climbs to the village by a rising route. Older accounts say this road was unpaved at one time, so it is wise to ask about its present condition before going. In summer, shaded areas can fill up early, so going in the morning is an advantage. Those planning a picnic are advised to bring their own supplies, take care to keep the area clean and treat nature with respect. Covers, bags and clothes made of Yassıçal çuha are found less in the village than at outlets in the city centre and at fairs.

Chronology

1855: The minstrel Fedâî Baba (Konaşoğlu Hüseyin) is born in Yassıçal.

1928: The settlement appears in official records under the name Ebemi.

1934: Fedâî Baba takes the surname Gümüş.

26 October 1940: Fedâî Baba dies.

27 February 1976: Yassıçal gains municipality (belde) status with the establishment of a municipal organisation.

1985-2000: The population is recorded as 2,223 (1985), 2,355 (1990) and 2,330 (2000).

April-November 2000: Plant specimens are collected in the area between the villages of Direkli, Yassıçal and Abacı; the results are published in 2007.

2006-2007: The Amasya Public Education Centre, with the Governorate's support, opens the first Yassıçal çuha weaving course.

2013: As the population falls below 2,000, the municipality is abolished and the settlement returns to village status.

2019: A master's thesis on the shuttle-woven textiles of Yassıçal Village is approved.

2020-2021: A drinking water source is found by drilling in Filingirler Quarter; the pumping line is opened for service on 29 September 2021.

22 December 2021: The Amasya Chamber of Commerce and Industry applies for a geographical indication for Yassıçal Çuha Dokuması.

2022: The village population is recorded as 610; a vegetation study of the region is published the same year. In December a weaving course with four looms opens at the village life centre.

14 July 2023: Yassıçal Çuha Dokuması is registered as a designation of origin under number 1411.

Sources

Primary sources

Academic studies

  • Özdemir, C. (2017). Hak Âşığı Amasyalı Fedâî Baba ve Tasavvuf Kültürü. Türk Kültürü ve Hacı Bektaş Veli Araştırma Dergisi 83: 125-148.
  • Cansaran, A., Peker, S. and Yıldırım, C. (2007). Floristic Characters of the Area between the Direkli (Göndes) Village, Yassıçal (Ebemi) Town and Abacı Village (A5/6 Amasya-Turkey). International Journal of Botany 3(3): 240-250.
  • Karabük, N. (2019). Amasya Yassıçal Köyü mekikli dokumaları ve güncel tasarımlar. Master's thesis, Gazi University.

Other sources

  • Şanlı, H. S. (2015). Amasya İli Halk Eğitim Merkezi Çalışmalarından Bir Örnek: Yassıçal Çuha Dokumaları. idil 4: 123-134.
  • Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, Geographical Indication Registration No. 1411, "Yassıçal Çuha Dokuması" (designation of origin), 14.07.2023.
  • "75 yaşındaki Yüksel nine, unutulmaya yüz tutmuş 'Yassıçal çuha dokuması'na ilgiyi yeniden yükseltti", İhlas News Agency, haberler.com, 07.05.2022. haberler.com
  • "Amasyalı nineler 250 yıllık 'Yassıçal çuha dokuması'nı öğreniyor", İhlas News Agency, haberler.com, 25.12.2022.
  • Cansaran, A. and Yıldırım, C. (2022). Direkli, Yassıçal ve Abacı Köyleri (Amasya, Türkiye) Arasındaki Bölgenin Sintaksonomik Analizi. Species and Habitats 3(2).
  • Amasya Special Provincial Administration, "Yassıçal Köyü içmesuyu çalışması tamamlandı", 29.09.2021.
  • Amasya Governorate, "Vali Işık Yassıçal Köyünde incelemelerde bulundu".
  • List of Amasya tourism and recreation areas (Yaylagöl Social Facilities).

Online sources