KONYA MEVLÂNÂ DERGÂHI SEMÂHÂNESİ VE KUBBE KASNAĞINDAKİ KUŞAK YAZILARI

Abstract

Dome drum inscriptions are an uninterrupted row of calligraphic inscriptions connected to each other in both meaning and style, found encircling the drum of a dome. This study aims at deciphering the uninterrupted row of kufic Arabic inscriptions found encircling the drum of the dome covering the semâhâne (whirling hall) of the historical Mevlânâ Dergâh located in the present-day Konya Mevlânâ Museum. For over 400 years the ritualistic Whirling Ceremony of the Mevlevî Order of dervishes was performed under this semâhâne dome, in the presence of the pîr (head) of the order, Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumî and his son, Sutan Veled, the founder of the order, who are buried under the Kubbe-i Hadra (green dome) located to the south of the semâhâne. These inscriptions were first discovered in the 20th century, during the extensive 1982-1986 cleaning and repairs of Mustafa Baytal, when the covering plaster layers of the painter Mahbûb Efendi’s 19th century Turkish Empire style painted decorations were rasped off the semâhâne’s kubbe and pendentive surfaces. However, since their 1980’s discovery these kufic dome drum inscriptions have not been read correctly. In this study by revealing the sources, transcriptions and meaning of the lines of the kufic verses, these dome drum inscriptions were finally deciphered for the first time.

Keywords

• mawlana jalaluddin rumi
• divan-i shams
• mevlânâ dergâh
• semâhâne
• dome drum inscriptions
• kufic calligraphy