Galata Mevlevi Lodge
Galata Mevlevihanesi, also known as Kulekapı Mevlevihanesi, is an old Mevlevi lodge located in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul province in Turkey. Today, it operates as a museum under the name of Galata Mevlevihanesi Museum.
The first sheikh of the Galata Mevlevi Lodge, which was built by Iskender Pasha in 1491 and was the first Mevlevi house in the city, was Semâî Mehmed Dede. Between the second half of the 1500s and the beginning of the 1600s, it was used as a hermitage and classroom affiliated with the Halveti order. As a result of various repairs and additions at different times, it became a social complex. Its activities were terminated within the framework of the law on the closure of dervish lodges, zawiyas, and tombs, and the prohibition and abolition of certain titles, which was enacted on October 25, 1925. After this period, the main structure of the Mevlevihane was used for primary school and lodging, while other sections were used for different purposes. It was converted into a museum as a result of various initiatives and opened to visitors on December 27, 1975, under the name of Divan Literature Museum. After this date, restoration works were carried out from time to time. After the last restoration that started in 2007, it started to serve under the name of Galata Mevlevihanesi Museum on November 21, 2011.
Today, the main structure, including the whirling dervish and dervish rooms, Halet Efendi Library, Sabil and Tomb, Şeyh Galib Tomb, Hasan Ağa Fountain, cistern, hâmûşân, Adile Sultan Fountain, and laundry, are located in the Mevlevihane.
History
The land on which the Mevlevihane was built, including the St. Theodore Monastery from the Byzantine Empire period, was originally covered with trees. It was later allocated to İskender Pasha, who served as a bostancıbaşı and beylerbeyi during the Bayezid period, and a hunting farm was established here. In 1491, the construction of the Mevlevi Lodge was initiated by Iskender Pasha, after Semaî Mehmed Dede, the Sheikh of Afyonkarahisar Mevlevihanesi, expressed a desire to build a lodge at this location. Iskender Pasha also donated the revenues of Karabürçek village in Vize county of Edirne, located within the borders of Rumeli Province, to the Mevlevi Lodge. This first Mevlevihane in the city, which had one hundred dervish rooms and a courtyard with a view of the surrounding area, is only mentioned in Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatnâme.
After its establishment, Semâî Mehmed Dede became the sheikh of the Mevlevihane and continued this duty for about a year. He then returned to Afyonkarahisar in 1492 and left his place to Ali Safai Dede, who was the clerk of Iskender Pasha's foundations by proxy. Ali Safai Dede continued this duty until his death in 1548, after which Mahmud Dede became the sheikh. During the reign of Mahmud Dede, the Mevlevihane was neglected and was taken over by the Halveti order, used as a lodge, and a classroom.
After Abdi Dede, who came from Konya in 1608, succeeded Mahmud Dede, the building started to serve as a Mevlevihane again. In 1510, Abdi Dede left to build a mevlevihane on his own land in Kasımpaşa, and İsmail Rusûhî Dede, who was appointed as Postnishin from Konya to Istanbul, replaced him. After this change of duty, Abdi Dede founded Kasımpaşa Mevlevihanesi, the third Mevlevi house of the city.
The sheikh, also known as İsmail Ankaravî because he was from Ankara, was given the title "Hazret-i Şarih" because it constitutes the oldest Turkish explanation of the Mesnevî. The tomb of İsmail Rusûhî Dede, who continued his duty until his death in 1631, is located in the courtyard of the Mevlevi Lodge. During the reign of Adam Dede, who succeeded İsmail Rusûhî Dede in 1649, two fountains were built - one in the courtyard and the other on the corner of Lüleci Hendek street, downstream of the Mevlevihane - by Hasan Ağa, the chief of the matbah (the person in charge of the kitchen).
In 1650, İsmail Efendi, the master of the shipyard and printing press, carried out some zoning activities in the Mevlevihane. After Adam Dede left the city to go on pilgrimage in 1652 and died in Egypt, Arzî Mehmed Dede came to his place. Arzî Mehmed Dede, who died in 1664, was also buried in the cemetery in the courtyard of the Mevlevihane.
When Derviş Çelebi was appointed to replace Arzî Mehmed Dede, he could not fulfill his duties, and Naci Ahmed Dede took over the task. However, Derviş Çelebi took over the task for the second time after his sheikhdom was abolished in line with the order from Konya in 1668. He continued his duty for about a year and became the first sheikh to be active in two different periods in the history of the Mevlevi Lodge.
In 1668, Gavsi Ahmed Dede took on the post of sheikh. He held the position for 29 years and was buried at the entrance of the semahane after his death in 1697.[9] He was succeeded by Osman Dede, his son-in-law and the neyzen chief of the Mevlevihane for 18 years.[10] Osman Dede served as sheikh until his death in early 1730 and was buried next to his father-in-law, Gavsi Ahmed Dede.[9] Osman Dede's son, Sırrî Abdülbâkî Dede, then became the new sheikh, and he was buried next to his father after his death in 1751.[9] After this period, the sheikhdom passed to another family, and between 1751 and 1761, Mehmed Şemseddin Dede became the head of the Mevlevi Lodge. Mehmed Şemseddin Dede was buried in the Mevlevi Lodge after his death, and he was replaced by his brother, Îsâ Dede.[9] During Isa Dede's reign, the Galata Mevlevihane burned down and became unusable due to the Tophane fire in 1766. In the same year, Osman Efendi from Yenişehir, who was appointed as the building trustee in line with Mustafa's order, rebuilt the Mevlevihane.[11][12] In 1771, Isa Dede transferred his position to his son-in-law, Selim Dede.[11] Selim Dede died in 1777 and was buried in the tomb in the courtyard. Then, Mehmed Sâdık Dede, his son from Kasımpaşa Mevlevihanesi, became the new sheikh of Galata Mevlevihane.[11] However, he died of the plague he caught after serving for about a year and was buried in hâmûşân in the courtyard.[11]
In 1778, Seyyid Abdulbaki Dede, who came from the Cairo Mevlevi Lodge, became the head of the Galata Mevlevi Lodge.[11] Hüseyin Dede, who was the head chef in Konya Mevlevihane, worked as a sheikh between 1781-1782, and Bakkalzade Ali Dede, who also came from Konya, served as sheikh between 1782-1786.[11] Üsküdarlı Nûmân Dede, who was appointed to replace Bakkalzade Ali Dede as sheikh, left in 1790 to establish Üsküdar Mevlevihanesi.[11] Although the sheikhship was given to Abdullah Dede, Bakkalzade Ali Dede assumed the duty of proxy after Abdullah Dede passed away during his arrival journey. Abdullah Dede's body was buried in the khamousan of the Mevlevi Lodge.[11] On June 9, 1791, Mehmed Esad Galib Dede (also known as Sheikh Galib) was appointed sheikh.[11] During his tenure, the semahane was rebuilt, and the wooden dervish rooms were renewed. An inscription dated 1791 regarding this repair was also engraved on the crown door at the entrance.[14] Galib Mehmed Esad Dede, who died in 1798, was buried in the tomb in the courtyard.[15]
Mehmed Rûhî Dede served as sheikh between 1798 and 1800, and then Mahmud Dede served until he moved to Beşiktaş Mevlevihanesi in 1816.[15] During the period of Kudrettullah Dede, who took office in 1816, a two-storey muvakkithane, public fountain, library, one side facing the street, and his own tomb facing the street were built by Halet Efendi in 1819. The tomb of İsmail Ankaravî, made of wood, was rebuilt, marble was laid in the garden, and gilded brass railings were added to the cemetery.[16] While Halet Efendi donated 266 volumes in 1819 and 547 volumes in 1821, a total of 813 works were donated to the library. He also donated his land and farms, mostly in Greece, for the management of the library, the preservation of the books, the salary of the employees, and the welfare of the grandfathers in the Mevlevi Lodge.[17]
In the fire that broke out in 1824, the printing house, mosque, and nine dervish rooms became unusable.[16] Kudretullah Dede wrote a petition to the Grand Vizier's office in 1828 stating that the dervishes still remain in the tents and asked for the necessary action to be taken because these tents were worn out. On 10 November 1828, with the reply from the grand vizierate, it was announced that new tents would be provided by the sultan.[16] Later, the repair works carried out by Manas Kalfa were completed in 1835.[16]
In 1847, Sultan II. built a cistern, a fountain, and a laundry in the Mevlevi Lodge, and Adile Sultan, Mahmud's daughter, funded the project.[18] In 1851, Sultan Abdülmecid Hasan Ağa repaired the fountain and built the printing press.[19] The main building, where the semahane, selamlık, and dervish lodge rooms are located, was built in its present form in 1859.[20]
After Kudretullah Dede died in 1871 and was buried in the tomb built by Halet Efendi, his son Ataullah Dede became the sheikh. During this period, the number of people coming to the Mevlevihane increased, and the number of employees also increased. According to the census of 1885, there were 36 people living and working here.[21]
In accordance with the order dated February 12, 1908, issued after the decision of the Ministry of Foundations, the Mevlevihane was once again repaired, provided that the exploration cost of 21,150 kuruş was covered by the İskender Pasha Foundation.[21] Ataullah Dede, who appointed Veled Çelebi as his deputy in 1909 due to health problems, died in 1910 and was buried next to his father Kudretullah Dede.[22] Ahmed Celaleddin Dede, the last sheikh of the Mevlevihane, was appointed in his place.[22]
Its closure and uses outside of the Mevlevihane
"The activities of the Galata Mevlevi Lodge were terminated in accordance with the law numbered 677 on the closure of dervish lodges, zawiyas and tombs, and the prohibition and abolition of certain titles, which was passed on October 25, 1925. For a while, the main structure of the Mevlevihane served as a community center. On February 8, 1941, at a meeting of the Istanbul Lovers Group affiliated with the Turing and Automobile Association of Turkey, Deputy Education Minister Hasan Âli Yücel proposed that the Galata Mevlevihane be turned into a museum. The group agreed and decided that the Ministry of Education should begin renovating the Mevlevihane. In 1942, 17 graves, including Humbaracı Ahmed Pasha and İbrahim Müteferrika, were transferred to the Mevlevihane along with their gravestones. Two rectangular, one-story wooden mausoleums on the right and left sides of the Semahane entrance were removed and tombstones were erected in their place. Although some repairs were made in the garden, no work was done on the main building.
In 1946, the Istanbul Municipality built the Beyoğlu Marriage Office in a part of the khamusan of the Mevlevihane. Also in the same year, since the library building started to be used as a police station, the books that Halet Efendi had donated were moved to the Süleymaniye Library. The Istanbul Lovers Group made a second attempt to turn the Mevlevihane into a museum in 1946, which was accepted by Reşat Şemsettin Sirer, the Minister of Education, on October 20. With the decree numbered 3-4951, dated November 18, 1946, the related land was transferred from the administration of the foundations to the Ministry of Education, along with all the buildings on it. At this time, the Mevlevihane was used as a lodging for Topkapi Palace employees.
On February 8, 1966, it was attached to the Directorate of Istanbul Tombs Museum, which was established by the Ministry of National Education with the order numbered 730.35-682. On December 18, 1967, a tender was held for its repair. After the restoration works, it was opened to visitors as the Divan Literature Museum on December 27, 1975. A restoration work was started by the Regional Directorate of Foundations on January 1, 2005. Due to the work, it was closed to visitors on May 20, 2007. The restoration work on the main building carried out by the Regional Directorate of Foundations was completed on June 9, 2009 and was handed over to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, albeit incomplete. After Istanbul was selected as the 2010 European Capital of Culture, another restoration work was carried out by the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency between March and December 2009. After the completion of the works, it was reopened on November 21, 2011, under the name Galata Mevlevihanesi Museum."
Current activities
The museum, which is open to visitors every day of the week except Monday,[33] is closed for half a day only on the first days of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha.[34] A sema show is held in the semahane every Sunday.[30] Seb-i Arus ceremonies are held on 15, 16, 17, 29, 30 and 31 December.[30] Various musical instruments, Mevlevi items from different periods and various artifacts are exhibited in the museum.[35]
Sheikhs
According to Hüseyin Ayvansarayî's book Hadikat-ül Cevami, the sheiks of the Galata Mevlevi Lodge and their years of office are as follows:[36]
Architecture
Location and layout
Galata Mevlevihanesi is building number 15 on the Galip Dede street in the Şahkulu neighborhood of Beyoğlu.[34] When you enter Galip Dede street from Istiklal Street, it remains on the left side of the street.[37]
To the right of the courtyard, which is entered through an arched door, is the Halet Efendi Library and the timetable and public fountain adjacent to this building; On the left is Halet Efendi Tomb.[12] A few meters ahead, on the left, there is the Sheikh Galib Tomb and a cistern adjacent to this tomb, and a few meters ahead of the tomb, there is the entrance of Hamushan. At the end of the courtyard is the main building of the Mevlevi Lodge, which includes the semahane and dervish rooms. Hamousan is located on the left side of the land. Apart from these structures, there is the Adile Sultan Fountain and a laundry in the courtyard. The car park at the back of the Semahane has a separate entrance from the back.
Courtyard and structures in the courtyard
According to the 1915 map prepared by the Ministry of Foundations, the Galata Mevlevihanesi had several structures including the semahane, Halet Efendi Library, Sebil and Tomb, Hasan Ağa Fountain, hâdikât-ül ervah, Şeyh Galib Tomb, hâmûşân, a fountain, a cistern, and a laundry room. However, the matbah, harem room, and dervish rooms shown on the map did not survive to the present day. [4][38]
The area from the entrance of the Mevlevihane's courtyard to the main building is paved with stones.[39] At the entrance of the courtyard, there is a round-arched door with a monogram of Mahmud and a repair inscription with talik inscription. The calligrapher of the inscription, written by the poet Lebib, is Yesarizade Mustafa İzzet Efendi.[4] On the inside of the door, there is an inscription about the repair made by Selim and an ode to the Sultan by Sheikh Galib.[4]
Halet Efendi Library, located just to the right of the entrance, is a two-story building measuring 11 x 7 m. The inner part of the 60 cm thick walls of the building, where the timetable is located on the ground floor, is plastered with limestone and brick, and the exterior is completely covered with marble. The upper floor is reached via a vaulted stone staircase behind a door on its exterior. After five colonnades with rectangular body and composite capital columns, one can access a vaulted landing, and from there to the main space of the library. There is an inscription with four cartridges, written by Yesarizade, belonging to its founder, Halet Efendi, on the main entrance door of the library, which consists of one large and one small room that are interconnected. The main library room has five windows, three on the side facing the courtyard and two on the other side. There are two metal realms on the roof covered with lead. [25][40]
On the ground floor of the library building, there is a rectangular room which can be entered through the door next to the stairway leading to the upper floor. This room houses the timetable and the public fountain. On the right side of the facade of this room, facing Galip Dede street, there is the Hasan Ağa Fountain, which is made in the rococo style and decorated with branches coming out of the vase. The upper part of the fountain is made of mirror stone with a half-oval trough, while the lower part is adorned with medallion motifs with laurel branches. The pointed arch of the limestone fountain features an inscription by Nisârî in talik script with 20 cartridges. Above this epitaph, there are the 16-cartridge inscription of the poet Ali Nisari Efendi and the sultan's tughra, which were carved by Abdulmecid after the renovation in 1851. On the wall opposite the entrance of the muvakkithane and the fountain, there is a second marble fountain with pleated curtain motifs opening to both sides on its mirror. In the two windows of the room facing the street, there are places for water and oil lamps on normal days, and nine bowls used for distributing ayran and sherbet on holidays. A white marble railing passes through the middle of the two wall clocks inside the room, separating the timetable and the public fountain. There is also a marble bench surrounding the timepiece.
The tombs of İsmail Rusûhî Dede, Îsâ Dede, Hüseyin Dede, Şeyh Selim Efendi, Selim Dede, and Mehmed Rûhî Dede are located in the Şeyh Galib Tomb, which measures 6.75 x 8.25 m and is made of kufeki stone and marble. The building has a rectangular plan and has nine rectangular windows, three on each of the three other facades. There are two protruding friezes above each window and false consoles between them. On the window in the middle of the entrance facade, which faces west and includes a three-step staircase, there is a Mevlevi crown (coin with decals) relief on the pedestal between the two consoles. Two branch coin reliefs were made under the eaves at the level of the second pilasters from the right and left. The building's roof, which has a vaulted dome, is covered with lead, and there is a branch coin without destars on it. Behind a low-arched door adjacent to the wall of the tomb, a seven-step staircase leads down to a cistern belonging to the Monastery of St. Theodore. The eastern facade of the building has no windows and rests on a side building.
In the Halet Efendi Tomb, the second tomb in the courtyard, Kudretullah Dede, Ataullah Dede, Thessaloniki Sheikh Ubeydullah Dede, and Kudretullah Dede's wife Emine Esma were buried. The building, which has a square floor measuring 6.5 x 6.5 m, has walls that are 65 cm thick and were built with limestone and brick. The interior is covered with a vault and decorated with gilded pencil works. A circular medallion in the middle and crown figures connected to the eight oval medallions around it are engraved on the ceiling. Four of the oval medallions are in the form of cartridges, and there are landscape pictures inside the cartridges. Inside the medallions, there is a Mevlevi coin on a table. The exterior of the building, which has a rococo style, includes half-columns, octagonal prism-shaped composite capitals decorated with flower reliefs, and triangular lozenges inside round arches. The eastern facade of the tomb, whose eastern facade rests on a side building, has three sides each facing the Galip Dede street and the courtyard, while the south-facing facade, which also includes the door, has two round-arched windows. The building's roof consists of marbles in the form of a rectangular prism superimposed on each other.
The hâmûşân, known as hâdikât-ül ervah (garden of spirits), is located in the courtyard where grandparents and members of the Mevlevi Lodge are buried. It is entered through a wooden garden gate.[39] While the destar coins worn by the sheikhs throughout their lives were engraved on their tombstones, different patterns were engraved on the tombstones of other people according to their duties and positions.[44] There is a wooden Mevlevi coin on top of the Adile Sultan Fountain in the courtyard, which is covered with a conical roof supported by eight marble columns. The part where the fountains are located is also in the form of an octagonal prism. There is an inscription written by Ziver Pasha next to the fountain, which has a cistern underneath.[45] Two marble-headed wells in the courtyard receive their water from this cistern.[46] The laundry room, which is covered with barrel vaults, has laundry trays made of marble inside. It is a rectangular-based structure with a window on the east façade facing the courtyard.[47]
At the back of Adile Sultan Fountain, the harem room where the sheikh and his family lived no longer exists. Although the kitchen and pantry of the Mevlevihane are in a separate corner of the courtyard, they have been demolished. Today, only the hearth niche, the well, and some wall remains remain.[25]
Main Structure
The wooden structure, which currently serves as a museum building and houses the semahane and dervish rooms, is located at the end of the courtyard. Since it was constructed on sloping land, it has two floors at the front and three at the back, with dimensions of 28 x 19 meters. The building boasts a total of 99 windows, 20 on the north-facing front, 42 on the rear, 24 on the right, and 13 on the left. The walls of the ground floor and upper floor are wood-framed, with plaster covering the interior and wooden cladding on the exterior. The basement floor's 105 cm thick walls are also plastered with baguette, and the wooden roof is covered with tiles.[48]
There are two doors on the front of the building, with the first leading to the semahane and the second leading to the sultan's chamber and the sheikh's chamber (selamlik). On the left side of the entrance door to the semahane are the graves of Gavsî Ahmed Dede, Osman Dede, and Sırrî Abdülbâkî Dede, while on the right side are the graves of Arzî Mehmed Dede and Mehmed Şemseddin Dede.[24] Above the same door, there is an inscription with four cartridges, written by Ziver Pasha and calligraphed by Rıfat Efendi in 1859, indicating the year the building was repaired and the signature of Sultan Abdülmecid. Two half piers made of marble are on both sides of the entrance.[49]
The octagonal semahane section consists of eight wooden columns supported by fourteen wooden balustrades between them. This part, which includes both floors, measures 5 meters on each side, with a height of 9.3 meters. While the columns and balustrades continue on the second floor, the capitals on the lower floor are in the Ionic order, and the capitals separating the second-floor rooms from the semahane are in the Corinthian order, having wooden cages between them. A stencil decorated with pencil work on the columns on the upper floor leads up to the ceiling, covered with a combination of rococo and eclectic styles. A six-armed chandelier from the Tomb of Abdülmecid, hung during the museum's opening in 1973, hangs from the ceiling, with a gilded wooden core surrounded by eight trapezoidal medallions.[25][49] There is a mihrab and a pulpit opposite the Semahane entrance. There are arch decorations in neo-gothic style, connected to each other by hand-drawn curved branches on the overhanging altar. The door and the pulpit with wooden decorations in the style of branch coins placed on the corners of the mansion were not made according to any particular style.[50] The masnavi lectern and the miraciye lectern, surrounded by wooden balustrades decorated with various patterns, are also located on the sides of the semahane.[51]
On the right and left of the main entrance door, there are two symmetrical doors. One of the stairs behind the doors on the left leads downstairs, while the other leads upstairs. The door on the right opens to the sherbethane room, where sherbet is prepared and distributed to the people in the semahane through a latticed window. The second door on the right leads to the upper floor, which includes two additional rooms in addition to the sultan's mahfili and the Konya hide. The cage on the wooden caged wall of the Sultan's mahfil is half the height of the other sections. The sultan's mahfil, which has a separate mihrab, has a ceiling covered with colorful hand-drawn decorations that continue into the adjacent room where the celebi and sheikhs from Konya watched the sema rituals. Some patterns were made on the ceiling of one of the two rooms behind these rooms with wooden bars, and this section has its own separate toilet. In addition to its connection to the lower floor, the sultan's mahfil also has an outward opening door located at the front of the building. Directly beneath the sultan's gathering place, where the sheikh received guests, had conversations, and met with the dedes, is the sheikh's apartment consisting of two intertwined rooms, a toilet, and a coffee house with dimensions of 5 x 4.78 m and 4.25 x 4.75 m. A double-sided staircase from the stairwell encompassing the two floors leads to the upper floor across from the door of the sultan's mahfil.
On the lower floor of the semahane, there are dervish rooms, which can be entered through a door on the right side of the building as well as from inside. On this floor, where there is a stone-cornered corridor, there are ten dervish rooms, as well as a printing house and a square room. At the entrance of each dervish room, there is a stone with holes for ablution. After a step in the rooms, it is passed to the wooden floor and usually wicker or rug covered seating area. In the rooms with two windows each, an L-shaped cedar high above the ground extended along a window and a wall.[53]
On the left side of the ground floor of the building, there is a section called the sisters' quarters, which consists of a 14.25 x 4 m hall and a 4.75 x 4 m tall room, which is accessed through a special door through the hamushan and where women watch the sema rituals. Semahane and sisters' quarters are separated from each other by a wooden cage 2 m high from the ground, and a 1 m wide balcony-like seating area is built on the side of the cage, which can be reached by a three-step ladder.[54]
Effects on popular culture
Galata Mevlevihanesi is mentioned in a part of İhsan Oktay Anar's novel Suskunlar, published in 2007. The title of the book is derived from the hâmûşân of the Mevlevihane, which means "the silent ones".[55]
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