Galata Mevlevihanesi: Come, come whoever you are
"Come, come whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn't matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again, come, come." Rumi
How to go there?
I wanted to visit the place for a long time, but it had a long restoration period. It is very easy to get there. You can either walk down from the Tunnel or walk up from Karakoy. It is very close to Galata Tower and your visit won't take more than an hour (if you don't fall in love with the beautiful yard with cats), so you can easily make a plan covering both places.
What is Mawlawiyah?
Mawlawiyah is religious order in Islam and it is closely related to Sufism. The order takes its name from Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi. (West knows him as Rumi, East usually calls him Mevlana. Actually Rumi is correct, because it is his name. Mevlana is his religious title.) Mawlawiyah was institutionalised by his son, Sultan Veled.
History
The building has a long story. Let's make a summary of it. It was built in 1491 by Iskender Pasha. It was then the first Mawlawi house in the city. Between the middle of 1500's and the beginning of 1600, it was used as a traditional social complex. With the law that forbids religious orders and their buildings, the complex was shut down on 25 October 1925. Later it was turned into a museum. On 27 December 1975, it was opened as Divan Literature Museum. In 2007, a new restoration period started and the museum reopened in 2011.
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| The Main Building |
The Building Complex
You'll enter the complex from a beautiful arched door. The library is just on the right, but you are not allowed to enter it. After a couple steps, you'll see Hasan Aga Fountain. On the left is the tomb of famous Divan poet Sheikh Galib. There is a cistern adjascent to it. There are also other little tombs, of which gravestones will give you an idea of traditional Islamic-Ottoman style.
The spacious yard is lovely with trees, benches and cats. On the far end of the yard is situated the big Adile Sultan fountain. (Adile Sultan is the daughter of Sultan Mahmud II, the sister of Sultan Abdulmecid, and is a Divan poet.)
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| Adile Sultan Fountain |
The main building is wooden and plain, as it is advised in Mawlawiyah. (Of course, it isn't the original one anymore.) The museum is on the first floor of the main building. Every information has luckily an English translation. The semah saloon is on the second floor. If it is empty, you can climb the stairs and take a look at it. Its floor is plain, but its ceiling is impressing.
Some details about the first floor: The museum is organised so that you can learn about the lives and the belief of Mawlawis. Among the displayed things are kitchen utensils, musical instruments, artworks, and old Masnavi's, the masterpiece of Rumi.
The museum is open for everyone (as Rumi said), the wanderers, the tourists, the backpackers, the corious, the spiritualist and all the rest. Make it a part of your plan!
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| Mawlawi - Sufi Music |
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