Ada Kaleh and Miskin Baba in a Romanian Source: Val Cordun, “Bektashism in Ada Kaleh (Miskin Baba - “The Dirty Saint”)”

Abstract

Despite its small size, Ada Kaleh has attracted the attention of travellers, empires, and adventurers throughout its history. The island has been ruled by many empires, but it has generally been known as a place populated by Turks. Researchers have written about Ada Kaleh’s history, the customs and traditions of its inhabitants, the island’s role in diplomatic negotiations between states, and its geological and geographical features. Less well-known is the existence of the Alevi-Bektashi community on the island and the presence of Miskin Baba, considered by various sources to be the “patron saint of the island”. Val Cordun, who has prepared three studies on Ada Kaleh and the personality of Miskin Baba, is an exception. These studies were conducted by a research group within the Romanian Academy between 1967 and 1972, before the island was submerged in the 1970s. Among Cordun’s works, the study presented in this article demonstrates the connection between Miskin Baba and Bektashism and locates the Bektashi community on the island. This article is a critical presentation of Cordun’s work. This work is composed of two main parts. The first one is an introduction that presents the importance of the island, some biographical data of Cordun, places his study in the research on Miskin Baba and offers some explanations regarding the translation in the appendix. We explained why Cordun used certain sources and omitted others, referring to the political context in which the article was published or the impossibility of accessing some sources. The second part presents the translation of Cordun’s article. For a better understanding of the translated text, we explained certain terms or references that Cordun uses.