The Architecture of Mevlevi Buildings, One of the Dervish Houses in the Ottoman Geography

Abstract

The Mevlevism order was established in the Seljuk period in Anatolia in the thirteenth century. After the death of Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi, his son Sultan Veled systemized his father's thoughts and created his own rules and brought the rituals to a ceremony in the form of sema ceremonies. Sultan Veled gave the name “Mevlevism” to his sect and was called “Mevlevihan” to his Dervish Houses. Nearly 140 Mevlevihane building was established in a wide geography which its east is in Tabriz (Iran), west is in Pecu (Hungary), north is in Gözleve (Ukraine), South is in Cairo (Egypt) and Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Nearly 80 of these Dervish Houses remained in the Republic of Turkey. After the declaration of Turkish Republic, these Dervish Houses were closed in 1925 by the law of “closure Tekkes and Zaviyes”, no. 677. There are two kinds of Mevlevihan, which are “Asitane” and “Zaviye”. Mevlevihan called Asitane are the main Dergahs which are full-fledged and has removing “ordeal” possibilities. The number of Asitane constructions is around 15 in all Mevlevihan buildings. Another Mevlevihan building is Zaviye. Zaviye were ruled by Mevlevi, who has the title of “şeyh” and “dede”. Many of the Mevlevihan become a historical monument because of their architectural style and construction date. However, most of these structures have been ruined over the years. Apart from a small number of Mevlevihan, which was established as "Külliye", "Semahane" parts of these Mevlevihan were used as mosques and remained up to date. When the architectural programs of the Mevlevihans are examined, it is seen that the Mevlevihans, which were settled down in 13th century have an architectural program after the 16th century and they take Konya Mevlana Dergah as an example. However, it is not possible to mention about same sized and specified spaces in all the Mevlevihans. There are similar sections only in the large- scale Mevlevihans which are “Asitane” status. In this study, an evaluation and classification study was carried out on the architectural formation of the Mevlevihans one of the Dervish constructions in Islamic architecture which attracted attention with its wide geography.

Keywords

• Mevlevism
• Dervish Houses
• Mevlevihane Architecture