Mevlevi Tekke
Museum of the Whirling Dervishes
 |
|
Mevlevi Tekke |
The
Mevlevi Tekke in Lefkosa was an important cultural centre of the Ottoman
era in Cyprus. It is situated within the walled city, south of the
Kyrenia gate on the main street leading to Ataturk Square. It is
distinguished by 6 golden domes surmounting a rectangular building.
Built in the 17th Century on land donated by Emine Hatun, it is believed
that the present Mevlevihane is a continuation of a previously
established Tekke known as the Arab Ahmed or Ferhed Pasha Tekke.
The Mevlevi order was founded by the poet Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, who
was born in 1207 in what is now Afghanistan. While he was still a boy,
his parents emigrated to Anatolia and settled in Konya. There he studied
under his father, and at the age of 24 became a professor of history,
theology and jurisprudence.
 |
|
Ottoman Tombstones |
The mystical philosophy that he express
in his poetry and bequeathed to the Mevlevi order would spread east from
Konya as far as India, and then throughout the entire Islamic world. His
teachings emphasised the individual soul's separation from God during
earthly existence, and the power of Divine Love to draw it back to the
infinite on death. Quite scandalously to orthodox Muslims at the time,
Rumi stressed music and dance as an expression of this mutual love and
yearning, and the Mevlevi order became famous over the centuries for its
whirling ceremony. In Cyprus, the Lefkosa Mevlevihane was the centre of
the Sufi tradition on the island. It is believed that the mufti of
Cyprus, who came from Konya in 1607 was also the first Sheik of the
Mevlevihane.
 |
|
Sema Ceremony |
The Tekkes in the Turkish republic were closed by decree in 1925, and
the centre of the Mevlevi order moved from Konya to Aleppo in Syria.
Although the majority of Turkish Cypriots were in favour of the closure
of the Tekkes in Cyprus, the British colonial administration on the
island allowed the tradition to continue. The next sheik for the Tekke
in Lefkosa would be sent from Aleppo rather from Konya, but his death in
1954 ended an era in which the whirling dervishes had performed their
sacred dance in the Mevlevihane. When it was first built, the Mevlevihane
included a complex of buildings and extensive grounds. There was a
kitchen which provided food for the poor of the city. There was
accommodation for 18 dervishes and guest rooms for visitors. Beneath the
domes were tombs for deceased sheiks. There was an inner courtyard for
contemplation, and an orchard in which almonds, pomegranates and figs
provided fruit. An ancient well and a reservoir provided water, and
there was an octagonal fountain for ablutions.
 |
|
Whirling Dervishes |
In 1956, the residential section of the Tekke was converted into a
hostel for Turkish children under care. Then in 1961, on the
recommendation of the director of the Konya museum, the Tekke was closed
entirely. After alterations, it was opened as the Cyprus Turkish Museum
in 1963, exhibiting calligraphy, imperial edicts and weapons as well as
costumes of Mevlevi dervishes and tombstones. What remains of the
original Tekke is the semahane, where the dervishes performed their
dance, and the tombs of the sheiks. Almost everything else was
demolished when a shopping centre was erected in 1970.
After extensive repairs to the semahane and the tombs of the sheiks, the
Mevlevi Museum was formally opened on the 17th December 2002, with
dervishes whirling once again after an interval of over 40 years. This
date was the anniversary of the death of Celaleddin Rumi, and as part of
the Turkish Cypriot heritage,
this ceremony will be performed every year
on the 17th December.
 |
|
Tombs of the Sheiks |
The Mevlevihane is entered through an
arched doorway, above which an Ottoman inscription informs the visitor
that this is the house of the Mevlana. Behind the doorway is a courtyard
in which exquisitely carved examples of Ottoman tombstones are
displayed. These stones have been collected from various locations in
Cyprus, and date from the 218th to the 20th century. Although they are
all Ottoman in style, many incorporate classical, rococo and modern
elements. To the right stands the semahane, which is entered through an
arched doorway on the eastern wall. The beams of the wooden ceiling of
the semahane rest on two square columns and a series of arches dividing
the room into two sections. The first room contains an exhibition of
Rumi's greatest poem, the Mesnevi, along with reproductions of Ottoman
miniatures and other illustrations. To the left of the entrance stands
the only remaining dervish cell, in which cooking utensils, a table, and
other objects used by the dervishes are displayed.
The second room in the semahane contains the mihrab, a niche indication
the direction of Mecca. The floor on which the dervishes danced is lower
and of oval shape. Along the northern wall is a balcony where the
musicians performed. On the floor of the semahane, copies of the Mesnevi
are displayed, along with musical instruments and costumes worn by the
dervishes when they danced.
Through the doorway next to the mihrab one enters the chamber in which
the sheiks of the Mevlevihane lie buried. There are 16 tombs beneath six
domes, extending south along the Kyrenia Gate. Photographs of some of
the sheiks, manuscripts and other objects are displayed on the walls,
while the tombs themselves are covered in embroidered textiles.
Back to Nicosia Index. |