ÇANKIRI KARATEKİN
ÜNİVERSİTESİ
FROM DAR AL-SHIFA and DAR AL-HADITH TO ÇANKIRI KARATEKİN UNIVERSITY
Çankırı, which was the administrative center of Paphlagonia region during antiquity and Roman times, held its importance in the Islamic period and hosted the first Islamic educational institutions in Anatolia. One of the first five Dar al-shifas built in Anatolia during the Seljuk period was built in Çankırı in 1235 by Atabey Cemaleddin Ferruh, one of the governors of Anatolian Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat the first. Dar al-shifas considered equivalent to today's education and research hospitals was built by statesmen to provide services to the public free of charge. The symbol of medicine featuring two snake figures wrapped around each other were also used in Çankırı Dar al-shifa. Upon the suggestion of Prof. Dr. Suheyl Ünver, who founded the Institute of Medical History in Turkey, the double snake figure used in Çankırı Dar al-shifa was accepted as the symbol of Turkish medicine in 1937. In this respect, Çankırı Dar al-shifa is of great importance in terms of Turkish medical history. It is also claimed that the figure of a snake winding around a bowl, which is the symbol of pharmacy, was first used in Çankırı Dar al-shifa. Çankırı Dar al-shifa did not survive for a long time; only the front section survived following a a strong earthquake and the rest was destroyed.
Another higher education institution serving in Çankırı during the Seljuk period is Çankırı Dar al-hadith. Shortly after the completion of the Dar al-shifa, Atabey Cemaleddin Ferruh built a Dar al-hadith for the teaching of religious sciences in 1242. The education institution under the name "Dar al-hadith" in the Islamic world was founded in Damascus in 1170. Nearly 70 years after this institution was established in Damascus, the first Dar al-hadith of Anatolia was founded in Çankırı. Çankırı Cemaleddin Ferruh Dar al-hadith is oldest Dar al-hadith institution that survived until today with its original epitaph. It is not known how long the structure, popularly known as the Taş Mescit (Stone Mosque), was used as Dar al-hadith. Dar al-hadith eventually repurposed as Çankırı Mevlevihane (Dervish Lodge) and was used as Mevlevihane until the lodges and zawiyahs were closed.
The first known higher education institution in Çankırı was the Çankırı Dar al-hadith, built in 1242 by Cemaleddin Ferruh, one of the governors of The Seljuk Period, and it was the first Dar al-hadith in Anatolia. It is popularly known as the Taş Mescit (Stone Mosque). Until the 20th century, Sheikh Cemaleddin madrasah continued to exist as a madrasah, sometimes named as the Taş (Stone) Madrasah.
The higher education institutions, whose existence was determined in Çankırı during the Ottoman period (13th - 20th centuries), are as follows[1]:
According to the Maarif annual dated 1903, there are 16 madrasahs in center district of Çankırı and a total of 729 students were registered in them. In addition, the presence of madrasahs is known[2]in some other districts.
The first higher education institution in the Republican period was the Institute of Education, which was opened in the 1975-1976 academic year. However, this Institute of Education was closed[3]in 1978. A Vocational School was opened in 1976-1977 academic year and this school was connected to Ankara University in 1982 and Çankırı Karatekin University in 2007.
Çankırı Karatekin University is one of the 17 universities established with the Law No. 5662, which was approved by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer on 28 May 2007. It is located in the province of Çankırı.
OUR RECTORS
APPOINTMENT DATE
NAME AND SURNAME
10 September 2008
Prof. Dr. Ali İbrahim SAVAŞ
06 September 2012
30 December 2016
Prof. Dr. Mehmet ÇAKIR
27 July 2016
Prof. Dr. İbrahim AYDINLI
11 March 2017
Prof. Dr. Hasan AYRANCI
21 April 2021
Prof. Dr. Harun ÇİFÇİ
[1] Murat Tarhan, Osmanlı Medrese Sistemi İçerisinde Çankırı Medreseleri ve Müderrisleri, Bolu İBÜ, YLS tezi, Bolu-2012, s. X-XI. The number of the madrasahs decreased and increased in some periods. It is also known that there are some unnamed madrasahs such as the Mecbur Efendi madrasah.
[2] Yurt Ansiklopedisi, C.3, İstanbul-1982
[3] Ahmet Ünlü, Cumhuriyetten Günümüze Çankırı Okulları, Ankara-1986, s.43.