Mevlevi Order

The Mevlevi order was organised after Rumi's death by his son Sultan Walad. Its centre was the Mevlana lodge in Konya, and dozens of mevlevihanes opened across Ottoman lands — in Istanbul, Edirne, Cairo, Aleppo and elsewhere.

The lodges were places of worship and schools of music, poetry, calligraphy and ebru. Many of the best Ottoman composers and ney players were Mevlevis, and Sultan Selim III was close to the order.

In 1925 Türkiye closed the dervish lodges. The sema later lived on as cultural heritage in public performances; the Galata Mevlevihanesi in Istanbul (1491) is now a museum, and the sema ceremony has been UNESCO heritage since 2008.