The Mevlana Museum and other Konya, Turkey Things to Do Tips

The Mevlana Museum is housed in a former lodge of the Mevlevi dervishes, which are more commonly known by their nickname, the "Whirling Dervishes." The museum's most famous external feature is its green conical dome. The museum's most outstanding internal feature is the extremely ornate tomb of Celaleddin Rumi (also known as "Mevlana"), a 13th century religious leader and writer who founded the Mevlevi dervish order. The tomb contains the sarcophagi of Mevlana and his extended family, and its walls are decorated by calligraphy and other patterns done in gold. In addition to the the tomb, the museum features an excellent collection of Islamic religious art. Our favorite exhibits in the museum were its collection of beautiful illuminated manuscripts.

The museum also features a recreated dervish lodge (with mannequins), which shows how the dervishes lived in the past. You are free to walk around the grounds of the museum as well. In the courtyard between the buildings, there is an ablutions fountain (for ritual washing).

One thing to keep in mind is that the museum is a religious building and that you are expected to dress as you would to enter a mosque (shoulders and knees covered, women must wear headscarves).

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Phone: 90-332-351-1215

Konya is the home of the Mevlevi dervishes, better known as the "Whirling Dervishes." The Mevlevi dervishes are members of a Sufi Islamic group that was founded in the 1200s by Celaleddin Rumi, better known as Mevlana. You can see the dervishes perform in Konya in a modern theater-in-the-round named the Mevlana Cultural Center.

The dervishes' ritual is best known for its whirling dance, but that is actually only one part of it. The ritual begins with music (the dervishes are accompanied by a 10-12 member band and a group of vocalists), followed by prayers. The dervishes then ceremoniously greet their leader one by one, and then form a circle. At this point, they begin slowly spinning in circles (whirling) as they circle the floor. They whirl off and on for about 45 minutes before ending the ceremony with more prayers.

The music is very hypnotic, and is accompanied by changes in lighting. The hypnotic effect is augmented by the building's ceiling, which features thousands of small lights in circular patterns.

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Directions: The Mevlana Cultural Center is located in Konya, about 1 km east of the Mevlana Museum.
Website: http://www.mkm.gov.tr/index.htm