Yenikapı Mevlevihanesi

Yenikapı Mevlevihanesi, a Mevlevi lodge founded in the 16th century in the Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul Province, Turkey.

It was built as Istanbul's second Mevlevi lodge a hundred years after the Galata Mevlevihanesi. The main building and the land, being the largest Mevlevi lodge in the city, is one of the most important examples of the group called "asitage" in tekke architecture. Important musicians of Turkish mystical music such as İsmail Dede Efendi, composer Itrî, and poet Şeyh Galip were trained in this Mevlevihanesi. In this respect it is significant not only for the history of the order and mysticism but also for cultural history. In recent times it has also been referred to as "Topkapı Mevlevîhanesi".

After a fire in 1997 the building was abandoned to its fate, and it was restored by the General Directorate of Foundations in 2005-2010 and allocated to Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf University.

History

It was endowed and founded by Yeniçeri Kâtibi Malkoç Mehmed Efendi, who was known by titles such as "Kâtip", "Koca Yazıcı", "Yeniçeri Efendisi". The opening date of the building is given in some sources as Monday, 9 February 1598, and in others as 8 February 1597 (Hijri 1006, the first day of the month of Rajab). The gate of the Istanbul walls that faces the building took the name "Mevlânâkapı" because of this Mevlevihane.

According to one of the legends about the foundation of the Mevlevihane, Malkoç Mehmed Efendi met Kemal Ahmed Dede, who lived in the place where his gardens were, and asked him for help. Ahmet Dede gave him something written on a paper and told him to open it when his wish came true; Malkoç Mehmed Efendi, who wanted to return to the Janissary Scribe profession and, if this wish were fulfilled, dedicated himself to traveling to Konya to visit Mevlana and to have a Mevlevihane built, saw the date of his appointment written on the paper when he opened it after the wish was fulfilled, and had the Mevlevihane he had dedicated built, wishing Kemal Ahmed Dede to succeed him.

The first structures built were a mosque, a semahane, a kitchen, a somathane (dining hall) and 24 dervish cells. Later, Malkoç Mehmed had a pavilion constructed for the postnişins to stay in. None of the original Mevlevihane's structures survived to the present day. The buildings, which underwent a major renovation during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II, suffered great damage after a fire and were rebuilt during the reign of Sultan Reşat. According to Evliya Çelebi's Travelogue, the building had seventy dervish cells, a semahane, and an imârethane. The original structure, entirely made of stone, that has survived to the present was built in 1910 by Architect Kemalettin Bey.

For the 327 years it served until the closure of tekkes and zawiyas in 1925, 20 postnişins served. After about four years in the post, the second post after the death of Kemal Ahmet Dede was Doğanî Ahmet Dede, who came from Berkofça near Sofia. He became famous as someone whose prayers were answered in Istanbul and received support from Murad IV. The support and interest of sultans and high‑level state officials in the Yenikapı Mevlevihane continued in later periods.

After Doğanî Ahmet Dede, four more sheikhs named "Ahmed" were appointed consecutively (Sabûhi Ahmed Dede, Câmi Ahmed Dede, Kaari Ahmed Dede, Nâci Ahmed Dede, Pendâri Ahmed Dede). These first seven sheikhs were called “Ehâmide-i Seb‘a” (Seven Ahmed) because of their names. After the second half of the 18th century, Yenikapı Mevlevihanesi was managed by sheikhs belonging to the family of Ebubekir Dede, the thirteenth sheikh of the lodge. Another branch of the family came to the administration of Galata Mevlevîhanesi.

The Mevlevi order in Istanbul, unlike the Konya Çelebiliği, supported the reformist III. Selim and II. Mahmud during the innovation movements in the Ottoman State. For this reason, the interest and support the Mevlevihanesi received from the state increased further after the abolition of the Janissary Corps. It is known that Osman Selahaddin Dede, the 18th postnişin, facilitated negotiations between Midhat Pasha and the prince regarding his passage under the condition that Prince Abdülhamid, during the reign of V. Murad, would allocate the constitutional government and the Chamber of Deputies. During Abdülhamid’s reign, after Midhat Pasha’s expulsion, the relationship between the Sultan and Osman Selâhaddin Dede deteriorated, his salary and the mesnevi lessons at the palace were terminated. In the era of Abdülbâki Baykara Dede, the Mevlevihane was twice placed under the command of the Ministry of War and used as a hospital in the Balkan and Gallipoli wars.

The Mevlevihane structure was used for a period as a student dormitory in the Republican Era. As a result of a fire on 9 September 1961, only the dedegân cells and the matbah (kitchen) remained standing. After this date, it was used by the General Directorate of Foundations as a storage for donations (gift items). It became unusable and was closed after a fire on 7 May 1997.

The building was restored by the General Directorate of Foundations in 2005-2010 based on the demolition, restitution and restoration projects approved in 991. The building, allocated to Fatih Sultan Mehmet Foundation University, serves as the university's Yenikapı Campus for master's and doctoral students as well as researchers.

Place in music history

The tekke also served as an academy of fine arts; it educated people in literature and music. The first musician thought to be associated with the Yenikapı Mevlevihanesi is Buhûrîzâde Mustafa Itrî Efendi. It is considered that Itrî, born around the Yenikapı Mevlevihanesi, received his musical education from prominent masters of the 17th century such as Koca Osman, Hafız Post and Derviş Ömer. The work titled "Na‘t-ı Mevlânâ," whose lyrics belong to Mevlânâ Celâleddîn-i Rûmî and which is read before the sacred ceremony in the Mevlevi lodges, and the "Segâh Ayini" are presented as evidence of his being a Mevlevi.