The Galata Mevlevi Lodge was founded in 1491 and served as a dervish house for more than four centuries, until the lodges were closed in 1925. It reopened as a museum and holds the semahane, the octagonal hall where the whirling ceremony was performed.
The collection covers Mevlevi life: instruments, calligraphy, prayer rugs, and the clothing worn during the sema. In the garden there is a cemetery of carved Ottoman headstones, each shaped to indicate the rank of the person buried beneath it.
Sema ceremonies are still held here on some weekends; check the schedule before planning around one. From The Soul Hotel it is a walk of about eight minutes down towards Galata.
Category:
History