The Tree of Life in Turkish Culture, Its Use in Tiles and Ceramics as a Motif

The tree, which is the most commonly used pattern in myths involving the creation of the world and the existence of humanity, primitive humanity attributed divine characteristics to it by reaching deep into the soil with its roots, reaching into the sky with its branches, surpassing other living beings in size, and having a long life span. Apart from the cosmic, divine beings who have always been watched in the sky, there has been a tree after animals and humans, which has grown from seed. Such respect, interest and fear felt towards the tree in various societies on Earth gradually led to the formation of the tree cult and it was accepted as sacred from the most primitive beliefs to the divine religions. In the cultures where it is used, the tree of life, also called the “Cosmic Tree”, the “World Tree”, the “Evliya Tree”, the “Ridvan Tree”, the “Tuba Tree”; axis mundi is known as a universal motif symbolizing all the relationships between the universe and life, as well as concepts such as heaven, heaven, abundance. In Turkish mythology, the connection between heaven and earth was established with a tree or mountain motif. The tree of life is also related to the structure of the universe. The universe pole is considered equivalent to the tree or mountain motif. This formation, which is sometimes interpreted as a “universal column” and sometimes as a “cosmic mountain”, corresponds to the concept of the center. It is also stated that the tree of life has seven branches, and each of these branches corresponds to the floors of heaven. It is rumored that the fate of people is written on the leaves of the same tree, and when each of them falls, a person's life ends. In addition, it is accepted that living things contain their own water, which is the source of life. References to the tree of life are made not only in Turkish societies, but also in almost all belief systems. “In the Zoroastrian religion, the fruits of the tree of life (white homa) nourish the holy souls in heaven, and the angels could not go beyond. It is in the center of paradise in the Torah. It is written that this will be a vine branch. It is written in the Qur'an that the Sidra Tree (Sidred al-Muntaha) is located on the seventh floor to the right of Allah's throne in heaven. This was the limit of heaven, and the angels could not go beyond it,” it is said. After the acceptance of Islam, the tree of life is kept equal to the Tuba Tree, which is said to exist in heaven, and in some Islamic sources the tree of life is referred to as the “Tuba”. The origin of Muslim societies in culture, art and literature is Hazrat Mahdi. “It is imagined that there is a tree in the paradise of the occasion, which is the position of the Prophet, whose branches reach all the layers of paradise from top to bottom. It has also been reflected in living spaces as an important symbol in Turkish societies and has often been used in decorative arts. When the Seljuks began to settle in Anatolia in 1071, the Turks blended their cultural and artistic knowledge with the traditions of the Anatolian geography and created new works in many areas. Cultural accumulations play an important role in establishing a connection between past and future generations by being formed in life and transferred to the future in a way of change, deceleration and continuity. The motifs used in the tiles have been shaped under the influence of the historical past of the geographies they lived in, such as Central Asia, Asia, Mesopotamia and Byzantium, and have become material culture data documenting their past. In this context, they have transformed their lives, which are intertwined with nature, into an element of decoration from the images they used as a symbol in the past. The blending of the elements that the Turks brought with them when they settled in Anatolia with the existing ones is very important for the formation of Anadolu Selcuklu art in the process of formation. It is the qualified formations and cultural diversity that enabled the birth of Seljuk art in the Anatolian geography. Turkish tile art in Anatolia, as in the decorative art, has developed with the influences of Central Asian, Turkish, Iranian, Syrian, Sassanid and Great Seljuk, as well as Armenian and Byzantine cultures of Anatolia before the conquest. Tiles, which are a branch of art that develops with architecture, have started to decorate buildings with their sedentary life. They have decorated their lives intertwined with nature with tile surfaces. In particular, they were complementary to religious and civil structures, and they were processed in different forms from each other in decorations. They have also given place to the tree of life motif many times. They took part in compositions with plant motifs such as pomegranate, poppy, lion, various bird figures and dragon. The tree of life, which is usually seen alone or surrounded by birds in the early periods in Anadolu Selcuklu art, was processed together with various accompanying animals in later periods. The examples seen alone in this period are seen only in religious architecture. Compositions in this way are seen on many stone artifacts. Divriği Ulu Mosque, Yakutiye Madrasa, Konya Fine Minaret Madrasa, Erzurum Double Minaret Madrasa are among the most well-known examples where the tree of life motif is used. The tree of life motif is usually included in Seljuk tiles together with bird figures. The motif of the bird in the middle and on the side of the figure, Priority Arik; “the axis of the universe from the perspective of the Shamanic traditions, the Shaman's spirit the ladder in the journey between the worlds, seeing as that accompanies the birds represents the spirit Shaman. According to Islamic belief, the symbol of paradise is perched on the tree, the birds of paradise. On the other hand, Kubad Abad with his comment that the starling birds that flock to a tree in the every morning as if they are having a meeting can be the inspiration for these pictures.” The motifs interpreted as the tree of life, especially those found on the figured tiles of the Kubad Abad Palace, differ from each other formally. Some of them are in the form of a tree, while others are in the form of palmettes, poppies, pomegranates, cones, or other combinations of motifs on a branch. In the past, it was also used on tiles along with some motifs whose symbolic expression was present. The tree of life motifs seen on the Seljuk palace tiles have been processed many times with the underglaze technique and there are also various lüster examples. During the Ottoman period, the tree of life motif was usually called cypress, cypress. In Iznik ceramics, it is seen in the late period of the “Baba Nakkas” ecol in the 1520s. Cypress motifs 16. while the century found more intensive use in Iznik ceramics on plates, cups, jugs and similar uses are rarer on items. During the period, it is seen that the tree of life, placed in the center, is accompanied by tulip, carnation, hyacinth, crockery flowers, large curved leaves and cloud motifs seen in a naturalistic style on plates with leaf slice edges. The varieties of tree motifs used in Ottoman tiles are depicted as religious and civil architectural surfacing, and usually evergreen, coniferous. As it forms the most depicted group in tiles, cypress trees are seen as dominant in compositions in patterns that are more symmetrical and accustomed to the numerical balance of motifs. The compositions created with the axis of the pattern were used together with naturalistic flowers such as tree of life, tulip, rose, Decanter, hyacinth. Cypress trees on tiles in the Crown Apartments, Favorites Apartment, New Mosque Hünkar Kasrı, Hagia Sophia Library and Eyüp Sultan Tomb in Topkapı Palace, 16. End of the century, 17. It is one of the magnificent examples belonging to the century. The tree of life, which has been seen as a link between worlds throughout world history, has existed in the cultures of societies in accordance with their lives and beliefs, and has been included in Turkish culture as a cultural element that has been used for centuries through its reflection on tiles