Photos of the Mevlana Monastery
Mevlana Monastery
Mevlana Monastery in Konya, Turkey - mausoleum and museum
Mevlana Monastery - a former dervish convent of the Mevlevi order and the mausoleum of Jalal ad-Din Rumi, located in the historic Karatay district in the centre of Konya. The complex is easily recognised by the Green Dome over the tomb, which has become a symbol of the city.
The ensemble formed in the 13th century around Rumi's grave and gradually became one of the main centres of the Mevlevi tradition. After the ban on dervish convents in 1925 it was opened as a state museum in 1926, with the main tekke buildings and the mausoleum retaining their original layout and decoration.
Today it is the Mevlana Museum, exhibiting manuscripts, musical instruments, dervish garments and the monastery's household items. Inside you can see the tombs of Rumi, members of his family and his closest followers, and explore the architecture of the Seljuk and Ottoman periods.
The key Mevlevi practice - the sema ritual, the meditative whirling of the dervishes - was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008. Konya holds annual December memorial ceremonies known as Şeb-i Arus, which culminate on 17 December.
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Mevlana Monastery - a former dervish convent of the Mevlevi order and the mausoleum of Jalal ad-Din Rumi, located in the historic Karatay district in the centre of Konya. The complex is easily recognised by the Green Dome over the tomb, which has become a symbol of the city.
The ensemble formed in the 13th century around Rumi's grave and gradually became one of the main centres of the Mevlevi tradition. After the ban on dervish convents in 1925 it was opened as a state museum in 1926, with the main tekke buildings and the mausoleum retaining their original layout and decoration.
Today it is the Mevlana Museum, exhibiting manuscripts, musical instruments, dervish garments and the monastery's household items. Inside you can see the tombs of Rumi, members of his family and his closest followers, and explore the architecture of the Seljuk and Ottoman periods.
The key Mevlevi practice - the sema ritual, the meditative whirling of the dervishes - was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008. Konya holds annual December memorial ceremonies known as Şeb-i Arus, which culminate on 17 December.
Religious traditions, manuscripts and architectural details are preserved here.
Rumi's Mausoleum and the Mevlevi Order Museum under the Green Dome
Visits begin in a spacious courtyard, from which you enter the mausoleum under the Green Dome and the halls of the former tekke. Inside are preserved prayer and assembly rooms, dervish cells and the semahane - the hall where the sema ritual was originally performed. Carved wooden details, calligraphy and ceramic tiling trace the development of the local architectural tradition.
The exhibition includes manuscripts of Sufi treatises and poetry, musical instruments such as the ney and kudum, wool caps called sikke and dervish cloaks, carpets and the monastery's utensils. Separate rooms show daily life and training in the convent, and in the tomb chamber you can examine the gravestones of Rumi and his relatives with traditional inscriptions.
Today sema performances do not take place inside the museum but on the stage of the city's Mevlana Cultural Centre, where evening demonstration ceremonies are held, especially during the December commemorations. Tickets for the performances are usually sold in advance.
Next to the museum stands the Selimiye Mosque, and within walking distance are Alaeddin Hill with its mosque, the Karatay Madrasa and the Ince Minare Madrasa. The site is convenient to reach on foot from central Konya, by city buses to Mevlana Square or by taxi; from the square the museum entrance opens directly onto the main courtyard.
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