Mevlana Museum / Konya

Mevlana Dergahı (Dervish Lodge) which is presently used as a museum formerly the Rose Garden of the Seljuks Palace and it was given as a gift to Mevlana’s father Sultanü’l-Ulema Bahaaeddin Veled by Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad When Sultanü’l-Ulema died on 12 January 1231, he was buried the present grave which is in the mausoleum. This was the first burial ever take place in
the Rose Garden. After the death of Sultanü’l-Ulema, his friends and disciples approached Mevlana and told of their wish to build a maussoleum over his grave. Mevlana refused this request remarking “How could there be a better mausoleum than the sky itself?). However when he died on 17 December 1273, his son Sultan Veled accepted the request of those who wanted to build a maussoleum over Mevlana’s grave. The mausoleum called “Kubbe-i Hadra” (Green mausoleum) was built by the architect Bedrettin from Tebriz for 130.000 Seljuk dirhem (currency) on four elephant feet (thick columns). After this date, the construction activities never ceased and continued in stages up to the end of the 19th century.

Mevlevi Derhgahı (Dervish Lodge) and the mausoleum started to function as a museum in 1926 under the name of Konya Museum of Historical Works. In 1954 the display pattern of the museum was once more taken up and it was renamed as the Mevlevi Museum.

While the Museum originally covered an area of 6.500m² together with its garden, with the section expropriated later and designed as a rose garden, it has today reached a size of 18.000m²
The courtyard of the museum is entered from “Dervişan Kapısı” (The gate of the Dervishes). There are dervish cells along the north and west sides of the courtyard. The south side, after Matbah and Hürrem Pasha mausoleums, terminates with the gate of Hamuşan (Sealed Lips) which opens to Üçler cemetery. On the eastern side of the courtyard there is the mausoleums of Sinan Pasha, Fatma Hatun and Hasan Pasha, the Samahane (Ritual Prayer Hall) next to them and the small mosque (mesjidt) section and the main building where the graves of Mevlana and his family members are also housed.
The courtyard is given a special flavor with the roofed washing fountain (şadırvan) built by Sultan Yavuz Sultan Selim in 1512 and the “Şeb-i Arus” (means nuptial night or the night Mevlana passed away) pool and the fountain which is located in the northern part of the court and called Selsebil.