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The Mevlana Museum (Mevlânâ Müzesi) presents the tomb of Rumi, who was buried in Konya on December 17, 1273.

Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey
Mevlana Museum

I was introduced to Rumi (Mevlânâ) shortly after I moved to Istanbul in October 2011. The Persian poet and Sufi mystic quickly became one of my favorite reads. I find his words inspirational and timeless no matter what the subject.

 

History

Rumi’s mausoleum was originally a functioning Sufi dervish lodge, but in 1926, the newly-formed Turkish Republic outlawed Sufism. The lodge was later turned into the Mevlana Museum.

Dome above Rumi's tomb at the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey
Dome above Rumi’s tomb

 

Entrance

Admission is free (as of April 2024) and it’s open daily. There’s an optional audio guide available if you want more information.

 

Tomb of Ahmed Eflâkî Dede

First, in front of the complex is the tomb of Ahmed Eflâkî Dede, an author who detailed information about Rumi.

Tomb of Ahmed Eflâkî Dede at the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey
Tomb of Ahmed Eflâkî Dede

 

Courtyard

A gate, Çelebiyân Kapısı, is down a path to the left. This was the original entrance to the complex. It opens up into a courtyard with the entrance to Rumi’s tomb and the Semahane on the left side.

Çelebiyân Gate at the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey
Çelebiyân Gate
Entrance to the tomb at the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey
Entrance to the tomb

 

Rumi’s Tomb

You will have to put on plastic galoshes over your shoes before entering. Once you pass through the door, photography is strictly prohibited. It’s completely understandable with the volume of people passing through every day, but it’s a bit of a shame because it’s far more beautiful than I could have imagined from the photos I had seen. Since I wasn’t allowed to take a photo, I will post one here from another source. Click here for a virtual tour.

Tomb of Rumi, by Georges Jansoone in Konya, Turkey
Tomb of Rumi, by Georges Jansoone

Surrounding Rumi’s tomb are several other tombs, including many members of his family. After the tomb is a small mosque with some artifacts on display. You pass through the Semahane on the way out, which is where whirling dervishes once performed their ritual Sema ceremony.

 

Dervish Cells

Back in the courtyard, you can see the dervish cells (Dedegân Hücreleri) in the building opposite the tomb and Semahane along with a fountain and some other structures. There’s also a small simple raised section with tombs marked by Ottoman headstones.

Dervish cells at the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey
Dervish cells
Dervish cells at the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey
Dervish cells
Fountain at the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey
Fountain
Ottoman tombs at the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey
Ottoman tombs

Each room in the dervish cells contains a small display of artifacts and a description of daily life for a dervish in the complex. It was very interesting.

Glass lamp at the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey
Glass lamp
Book at the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey
Book
19th century Ottoman document at the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey
19th century Ottoman document
Sufi music display at the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey
Sufi music display

 

Kitchen

The building at the very end of the complex is the kitchen (Matbah-ı Şerif), which contains several mannequins of dervishes in action. One display is of the kitchen itself, another is a group of dervishes sitting around a dining table, and another is a dervish performing the Sema ceremony.

Kitchen at the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey
Kitchen
Dervishes sitting around a table in the kitchen at the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey
Dervishes sitting around a table
Whirling dervish

 

Tombs

The other structures on the courtyard are tombs (türbeler). They’re occupied by Sinan Pasha, Hürrem Pasha (d. 1553), and Fatma Hâtun. I couldn’t find any information about the people buried inside or their significance.

Tomb of Sinan Pasha
Tomb of Hürrem Pasha
Inside the tomb of Hürrem Pasha
Tomb of Fatma Hâtun
Tomb of Fatma Hâtun

Author

Owner of Paisadventure. World traveler. Chicago sports lover. Living in Colombia.

2 Comments

  1. I love your posts about Konya!
    I heard a lot about Rumi the last couple of months and I started looking for some reading material. However I didn’t know that Rumi and Mevlana were one and the same.

    • Thank you! My students always spoke about Mevlana and one of them gave me a book of his poems. I fell in love with his work immediately, but I also didn’t know he was the same as Rumi for quite some time.

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