Galata Mevlevihanesi

Galata Mevlevihanesi or also known as Kulekapı Mevlevihanesi, an old Mevlevi lodge located in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Today it operates as a museum under the name Galata Mevlevihanesi Museum.

The Galata Mevlevihanesi, built in 1491 by İskender Paşa and being the first Mevlevi lodge in the city, had its first sheikh Semâî Mehmed Dede. In the period between the second half of the 1500s and the early 1600s it was used as a zawiya and classroom belonging to the Halveti order. Through various repairs and additions at different times it became a complex. On 25 October 1925, the lodge, zawiya and tombs were closed and some titles were banned and abolished within the framework of a law, ending its activities. After this period the main building of the lodge was used as an elementary school and dormitory, while other sections were used for different purposes. Through various initiatives it was transformed into a museum and opened to visitors on 27 December 1975 under the name Divan Literature Museum. Restoration works were carried out periodically from that date. After the final restoration that began in 2007, it started operating as Galata Mevlevihanesi Museum on 21 November 2011.

Today within the lodge the main building covering the semahane and dervish rooms, the Halet Efendi Library, the Sebili and its tomb, the Sheikh Galib Tomb, the Hasan Ağa Fountain, the cistern, the hammam, the Adile Sultan Fountain and the laundry are present.

History

Before the Mevlevi lodge was built, the land covered with trees and containing the Saint Theodore Monastery from the Byzantine Empire period was assigned to İskender Paşa, who served as chief gardener and beylerbeyi during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II, after which a hunting farm was established there. As a result of Sheikh Semâî Mehmed Dede of the Afyonkarahisar Mevlevihanesi wanting to establish a tekke there, the construction of the Mevlevi lodge was started by İskender Paşa in 1491. The revenues of the village of Karabürçek in the Vize district, which belonged to Edirne on the borders of the Rumelia Province, were also endowed to the lodge by İskender Paşa. This first building, which holds the distinction of being the city's first Mevlevi lodge, is mentioned only in Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatnâme; according to the work İskender Paşa had a courtyard with a view dominating the surroundings and a hundred dervish rooms.

After its foundation, Semâî Mehmed Dede, who passed to the sheikhdom of the Mevlevihane, after serving in this position for about a year, returned to Afyonkarahisar in 1492; he left his place provisionally to Ali Safaî Dede, the clerk of İskender Pasha’s endowments. After continuing this duty until Ali Safaî Dede’s death in 1548, the sheikhdom passed to Mahmud Dede. During Mahmud Dede’s period the Mevlevihane fell into neglect and was taken over by the Halveti order, being used as a tekke and classroom. In 1608, with the arrival of Abdî Dede from Konya, who replaced Mahmud Dede, the building began to serve again as a Mevlevihane. In 1510, after Abdî Dede left to build a Mevlevihane on his own land in Kasımpaşa, he was succeeded by İsmail Rusûhî Dede, who had been appointed as a postman from Konya to Istanbul. Following this change of duty, Abdî Dede founded the third Mevlevihane of the city, the Kasımpaşa Mevlevihane. Because he was from Ankara, the sheikh was also known as İsmail Ankaravî, and he was given the title “Hazret-i Şarih” for creating the oldest Turkish commentary of the Masnavi. The tomb of İsmail Rusûhî Dede, who served until his death in 1631, is located in the courtyard of the Mevlevihane. During the period of Âdem Dede, who succeeded him, in 1649 the kitchen overseer (person responsible for the kitchen) Hasan Ağa had two fountains built: one in the courtyard and the other at the corner of Lüleci Hendek Street at the lower side of the Mevlevihane. In 1650, some urban development works were also carried out in the Mevlevihane by the shipyard and kitchen overseer İsmail Efendi. After Âdem Dede left the city for the Hajj in 1652 and died in Egypt, Arzî Mehmed Dede took his place. Arzî Mehmed Dede, who died in 1664, was also buried in the cemetery of the Mevlevihane courtyard. When the appointed Derviş Çelebi could not fulfill his duty, Naci Ahmed Dede took over the position. In 1668, following an order from Konya to abolish the sheikhdom, Derviş Çelebi assumed the duty a second time. Serving for about a year, Derviş Çelebi became the first sheikh to be active in two different periods in the history of the Mevlevihane.

In 1668, Gavsî Ahmed Dede came to the position of sheikh. After serving for about 29 years, Gavsî Ahmed Dede was buried at the entrance of the semahane after his death in 1697. He was succeeded by his son‑in‑law and the neyzenbaşı of the Mevlevihane for 18 years, Osman Dede. When Osman Dede, who served as sheikh until his death at the beginning of 1730, was succeeded by his son Sırrî Abdülbâkî Dede, Osman Dede’s corpse was buried next to his father‑in‑law Gavsî Ahmed Dede. After Sırrî Abdülbâkî Dede’s death in 1751, he was buried beside his father. After this period the sheikhdom passed to another family. First, between 1751 and 1761, Mehmed Şemseddîn Dede took the head of the Mevlevihane. After his death, his brother Îsâ Dede succeeded him. During the period of Îsâ Dede, the Galata Mevlevihane was burned in the 1766 Tophane fire and became unusable. In the same year, the building was rebuilt by Yenişehirli Osman Efendi, appointed as the building trustee by Sultan III. Mustafa. In 1771, Îsâ Dede handed over his position to his son‑in‑law Selim Dede. In 1777, when Selim Dede died and was buried in the courtyard tomb, Mehmed Sâdık Dede, son of the Kasımpaşa Mevlevihane, became the new sheikh of the Galata Mevlevihane. After serving for about a year, Mehmed Sâdık Dede died of an illness he contracted and was buried in the courtyard hâmûşâ.