Mevlana Museum Through the Centuries

By All Over InformationUpdated August 10, 20267 min read

The Mevlana Museum of Konya has stood through the deep history of the Sufi tradition, and its story runs from the thirteenth century to the present day. The complex of the shrine has served the centuries as the tomb of the master, the lodge of the dervishes, and the museum of the modern era — and every age of the tradition has left its mark on the beloved monument. This guide traces the Mevlana Museum through the centuries, era by era.

The Thirteenth Century: The Life and the Death

The story of the museum begins in the thirteenth century, with the life and the death of the master. Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi came to Konya in the years of the Seljuk capital, taught and wrote in the city, and died in 1273. The body of the master was buried in the garden of the dervish lodge, and the tomb of Rumi became the seed of the museum: the burial place of the great mystic, and the shrine that the centuries would build around it.

The thirteenth century set the foundation of the museum: the life of the master in Konya, the death of Rumi, and the tomb that began the history of the shrine.

The Fourteenth and the Fifteenth Centuries: The Mausoleum

The centuries after the death of the master saw the tomb grow into the shrine. The successors of Rumi — the leaders of the Mevlevi order — built the mausoleum over the tomb of the master, and the green dome of the building rose in the following centuries: the conical dome of the turquoise tiles that became the landmark of Konya. The mausoleum of Rumi took its form in these centuries, and the shrine of the master grew around the tomb.

The fourteenth and the fifteenth centuries built the monument: the mausoleum of the green dome, the shrine of the master, and the building that the museum would inherit.

Mevlana Museum, Turkey — Photo by Hans on Pixabay

The Sixteenth and the Seventeenth Centuries: The Lodge

The sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries brought the growth of the lodge. The Mevlevi order flourished in these centuries, and the complex of Konya grew with it: the semahane of the whirling ceremony, the rooms of the dervishes, and the halls of the order taking their place around the mausoleum. The lodge of the Mevlevi at Konya — the mother lodge of the order — carried the life of the tradition, and the complex of the shrine grew into the full center of the Mevlevi world.

The sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries were the centuries of the lodge: the semahane, the rooms, and the working life of the order, around the shrine of the master.

The Eighteenth and the Nineteenth Centuries: The Ottoman Centuries

The eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries brought the Ottoman era of the complex. The Ottoman sultans held the Mevlevi in the high regard, and the shrine of Konya was maintained and honored through the centuries: the restorations and the additions of the Ottoman era, the gifts of the sultans to the shrine, and the visiting dignitaries of the empire coming to the lodge. The complex of the museum today holds the buildings of that era, the Ottoman structures around the mausoleum.

The eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries were the Ottoman centuries of the complex: the honored shrine, the maintained lodge, and the buildings that the museum preserves.

The Early Twentieth Century: The Republic and the Museum

The early twentieth century brought the great change of the complex. The dervish lodges of Turkey were closed in the 1920s, in the reforms of the young republic, and the complex of Konya took its new role: the tomb of Rumi was preserved, and the buildings of the lodge were opened as the museum — the Mevlana Museum of the republic. The museum of the early twentieth century preserved the shrine and the artifacts of the Mevlevi, and the beloved monument of Konya entered its modern era.

The early twentieth century transformed the complex: the lodge of the dervishes into the museum of the republic, and the shrine of the master opened to the world.

The Mid-Twentieth Century: The Museum of the Collections

The mid-twentieth century brought the museum of the collections. The Mevlana Museum grew into the full museum of the tradition: the manuscripts and the objects of the Mevlevi gathered in the rooms, the exhibits of the order arranged in the halls, and the semahane preserved as the hall of the ceremony. The museum of the mid-century became the destination of the visitors and the scholars, and the collections of the tradition took their place in the complex.

The mid-twentieth century was the era of the collections: the manuscripts, the instruments, and the artifacts of the Mevlevi, gathered and displayed in the museum of the shrine.

The Late Twentieth Century and the Twenty-First: The Beloved Monument

The late twentieth century and the twenty-first have seen the Mevlana Museum as the beloved monument of Turkey. The museum is one of the most visited of the country, and the shrine of the master receives the millions of the visitors each year: the pilgrims and the travelers, the schoolchildren and the seekers, drawn by the message of Rumi. The December festival of the Mevlevi brings the whirling dervishes and the ceremonies to Konya, and the museum stands at the heart of the living tradition.

The late twentieth century and the twenty-first are the era of the beloved monument: the museum of the master, the destination of the millions, and the heart of the living tradition of the Mevlevi.

The Museum in the Story of the Tradition

There is a deeper place for the Mevlana Museum in the story of the Sufi tradition: the museum is the house of the message. The teaching of Rumi — the love and the tolerance, the unity of the human and the divine — has carried through the centuries, and the museum of Konya is the place where the visitor meets that message: the tomb of the master, the poetry of the Mesnevi, and the tradition of the whirling dervishes. The museum is not only the monument of a man; it is the house of a teaching, and the message of Rumi lives in its rooms through the centuries.

The Experience of the Centuries

There is a particular quality to the visit of the Mevlana Museum: the traveler stands in the shrine that has served the tradition for eight hundred years. The complex gives the experience of the centuries — the tomb of the master, the green dome, the semahane, and the rooms of the tradition — and the visit is the encounter with the deep heritage of Turkey: the mystic of the thirteenth century, the order of the whirling dervishes, and the beloved monument that has carried the message through the ages.

The Visitors Through the Centuries

The visitors of the shrine have changed with the centuries, and the monument has received them all. In the centuries after the death of Rumi, the pilgrims of the Mevlevi and the people of the region came to the tomb of the master — the shrine of the mystic, visited by the faithful of the tradition. In the Ottoman centuries, the dignitaries and the pilgrims of the empire came to the honored lodge, and the shrine of Konya received the visitors of the age. And in the modern era, the visitors of the world have come to the museum — the travelers and the seekers, the millions of the visitors each year, drawn by the message of Rumi.

The visitors through the centuries are the measure of the monument’s endurance: the shrine that has received the faithful, the pilgrims, and the visitors of eight hundred years, and that continues to receive them today. The beloved monument of Konya has served the devotion and the curiosity of the ages, and the museum of the present carries that long welcome into the future. And the newest visitors — the travelers of the world who come to Konya for the museum — continue the line of the pilgrims and the seekers who have come to the tomb of the master since the thirteenth century, the long welcome of the shrine unbroken through the ages.

Frequently asked questions

How old is the Mevlana Museum?

The history of the museum begins with the death of Rumi in 1273, when the master was buried in the garden of the dervish lodge. The mausoleum and the complex grew through the following centuries.

What happened to the lodge in the 1920s?

The dervish lodges of Turkey were closed in the 1920s, in the reforms of the republic, and the complex of Konya was opened as the museum. The tomb of Rumi was preserved, and the buildings of the lodge became the Mevlana Museum.

When did the museum become popular?

The Mevlana Museum has grown into one of the most visited museums of Turkey through the late twentieth century and the twenty-first. The December festival of the Mevlevi brings the pilgrims and the ceremonies to Konya each year.

All Over Information

The All Over Information editorial team researches and writes practical English-language guides to Turkey. Facts are checked against official and local sources before publication, prices are published as dated ranges rather than quotes, and guides are revised when things change. We accept no sponsored posts, paid placements or paid links.