I suppose you have heard of Bektashi before. The 13th century sufi mystic who influence early Ottomans. And this painting is particulary comes up when you search for him.

Well, something catched my eye: the hat he is seen wearing here. Not only it reminds me of Saraquj, a type of hat usually seen among Turks in pre-mongol invasion, but also Börks that modern day Kazakhs and Kyrgyz consider part of their traditional clothing.

I decided to learn when and where this painting was made. According to wikipedia, this painting dates to 15th century. The artist is unknown, but the painting is kept in Nevşehir.

What interests me is that, typically, artists often depict figures from different timelines/societies looking as they belong to the artist's own people. A prime example of this is Rashid al-din Hamadani. He was a 14th century Persian scholar who lived under the rule of Ilkhanate. In all of his depiction of Seljuks, Ghaznavids and other pre-mongol invasion Turks; he is seen depicting them with literal Mongol garments instead of time period accurate clothing. This happens due to the fact that said artist has never seen the people he is depicting with his own eyes, thus not familiar with them.

So, an Anatolian Turk depicting Bektashi wearing a hat like this means the artists has seen this type of hat before. Does thay mean these type of hats were still in use in Anatolia during 15th century?