Zeynel Dede Alevi Spiritual Leader

Zeynel Dede Alevi Spiritual Leader Zeynel Ertekin was born in 1941 in Çatalbayır (Penek) Village, Aşkale district of Erzurum. Married, Zeynel Dede is the father of six children, three sons and three daughters.

He worked in Germany until 1985. After returning to Türkiye, he began working in the tourism sector. For many years, he shared Turkish culture with local and foreign tourists, explaining the tolerant, loving, and human-centered thoughts of Ahmet Yesevi, Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli, Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi, and Yunus Emre.

Coming from a Seyyid family, Zeynel Dede's father also held the position of Dede (spiritual leader). For about ten years, Zeynel Dede traveled from village to village and city to city with his father, participating in religious gatherings and various social events. During this time, he met different people, benefited from their knowledge and experience, and had the opportunity to learn the Dede tradition firsthand.

Through his work in the field of tourism and his travels to many countries around the world, he became acquainted with different cultures. As a result of this experience, he advocated two fundamental ideas about the future of Türkiye: Firstly, that women should strengthen their place in society in a way that is appropriate to the needs of the age; secondly, that the philosophy of Ahmet Yesevi, Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli, Mevlana, and Yunus Emre, embracing love, peace, and humanity, should be kept alive and passed on to future generations.

Deeply influenced by these ideas, Zeynel Dede commissioned Tanrıyel, a Georgian-born painter who grew up in Russia, to paint the symbolic world he envisioned. According to him, these paintings were not merely works of art; they were narratives carrying the wisdom of Anatolia, Alevi-Bektaşi culture, love for humanity, mysteries, spiritual symbols, and traces of his own ancestry. He also stated that these works were a symbolic narrative that made visible the cultural and spiritual values ​​of a significant part of Türkiye.

Zeynel Ertekin (Zeynel Dede) passed away on May 26, 2018. His thoughts and artistic vision continue to live on and connect with visitors through this virtual exhibition at Dedehan Art Gallery.