GALATA MEVLEVIHANESI TURKISH DIVAN POETRY MUSEUM ( GALATA MEVLEVIHANESI )

Galata Mevlevihanesi has opened as museum in 1975 –the other name of it is Kulekapısı mevlevihanesi- it is an association which reflects the culture and art of its own age. Contribution of “Mevlevihane”s to Turkish culture that led to music and science together are very important during the centuries. So many people gathered around the Mevlevihanes trained on miscellaneous branchies of art and got importance successes in sciencific area.
    Mevlevihane is in Beyoglu at the begining of a uphill which downs to Yuksekkaldırım and the oldest Mevlevihane in İstanbul. It had been built in 1491 on Iskender Pasha’s hunting farm, Pahsa was Beylerbeyi (Governor of province) in the age of Sultan Bayezid II. The first sheikh was Mehmed Semai Chelebi. Mevlevihane had burnt in the age of Sultan Mustafa III. (1776) but it had been rebuilt in the same age. It had been repaired at the age of Sultan Selim III. , Sultan Mahmud II. And Sultan Abdülmecid. It had been used as Mevlevihane untill 1925 and it had been repaired in 1967-1972.
    It had been built as a complex building (Külliye), there are semahane, dervish cells, sheikh’s room, sultan’s place (hünkarmahfili), womenplace, library, public fountain (sebil), time keeping place (muvakkıthane), kitchen, tombs and cemetary (Hazire).
    Semahane:This wooden place is being used as museum, there is Sultan Abdülmecid’s repairing inscription up on the entering door dated 1853. The building is planned octagonal an done of the most beautiful example of 18th century baroque style. In this department, enstruments of turkish music and Works belonged to Mevlevi culture are being exhibited. And in the department upstairs deviationed with wooden frameworks, there are boks of divan poets and manuscripts of Sheikh Galib, Ismaıl Ankaravı, Esrar Dede, Fasih Dede, Mrs. Leyla (these poets were trained in Mevlevihane). Sheikh’s room and the sultan’s place are upstairs.
    Dervish cells: They are side by side brick-stone rooms.
    Tombs: The tomb of Sheikh Galib had been built in the 19th century by Halet Said, planned square. In the same department there are some other sheikh’s sarcophaguses, they are Mehmed Ruhi, Huseyin, Isa, Salim, Ismail Ankaravi, Sheikh Galib.
    The tomb of Halet Said had been built in the same time with the other, it is squareplanned and in this tomb department, there are sarcophaguses of Sheikh Kuratullah, Ataullah, Halet Said and Emine Esma (she was the wife of Ubeydullah).
    Public Fountain and time keeping Room (Sebil and Muvakkıthane): They are on the right side of entering, they are brick-stone and had been built in the begining of 19th century.
    Library: It had been built by the Halet Said at upstairs of time keeping room. There are 3455 valumes of boks.
    Cemetary: (Hazire, Hamushan): People who were sheikhs and their wiwes, drumplayers (kudumzen), reedplayers (neyzen), poets had been buried there. And also there are the graves of Humbaracı Ahmed Pahsa, Ibrahim Muteferrika (who established the first printing Office in Otoman Empire), composer Vardakosta Seyyid Ahmed Aga, Nayi Osman Dede, Tepedelenli Ali Pahsa and his family. The tombstones are too precious because of the ornaments and caligraphy on them.