Mevlana Museum

The Mevlana Museum (Mevlana Müzesi), also known as the Green Mausoleum or Green Dome, is the original lodge of the Mevlevi Whirling Dervishes, a mystical Sufi Muslim group. It containes the tomb and shrine of the Mevlana, or Rumi, which remains an important place of pilgrimage.

History

Sultan ‘Ala’ al-Din Kayqubad, the Seljuk sultan who had invited Mevlana to Konya, offered his rose garden as a fitting place to bury Baha’ ud-Din Walad (or Bahaeddin Veled), the father of Mevlana, when he died in 1231. When Mevlana himself died on December 17, 1273, he was buried next to his father.

Mevlana’s successor Hüsamettin Çelebi built a mausoleum (Kubbe-i-Hadra) over the grave of his master. The Seljuk construction, under architect Behrettin Tebrizli, was finished in 1274. Gürcü Hatun, the wife of the Seljuk Emir Suleyman Pervane, and Emir Alameddin Kayser funded the construction.

The cylindrical drum of the of the dome originally rested on four pillars. The conical dome is covered with turquoise faience. Several sections were added until 1854. Selim I decorated the interior and performed the woodcarving of the catafalques.

A decree by Ataturk in September 1925 dissolved all Sufi brotherhoods in Turkey. On April 6, 1926, another decree ordered that the Mevlana mausoleum and dervish lodge be turned into a museum. The museum opened on March 2, 1927.

Special permission granted by the Turkish government in 1954 allowed the Mawlawi dervishes of Konya to perform their ritual dances for tourists for two weeks each year. Despite government opposition the order has continued to exist in Turkey as a religious body. The tomb of Rumi, although officially part of a museum, attracts a steady stream of pilgrims.

What to See

The dervish lodge (tekke) includes a semahane, where the ritual sema or whirling ceremony takes place, a sadirvan for ritual ablutions, a library, living and teaching quarters, and the mausoleum housing the tomb of Celaleddin Rumi, founder of the sect and later awarded the honorable title of Mevlana. His epitaph reads: “Do not seek our tombs on this earth – our tombs are in the hearts of the enlightened.”

The mausoleum room is highly ornamented with Islamic script and enameled reliefs, and contains the tombs of several of the more important figures of the dervish order. The main tomb enclosed behind a silver gate crafted in 1597 is that of Mevlana. The tomb of his father, Bahaeddin Veled, is upright and adjacent to his son’s, a position that signifies respect.

The adjoining room, or the semihane, is now a museum of Mevlana memorabilia displaying musical instruments and robes belonging to Mevlana, along with Selçuk and Ottoman objects like gold-engraved Korans from the 13th century. Among the fabulous ancient prayer rugs is the most valuable silk carpet in the world.

Mevlana Museum

Topkapı Holy Relics

HOLY RELICS

The greatest treasures of Topkapi Palace are the Holy Relics. These relics, revered by the Islamic World, have a spiritual value that defies estimate according to material criteria. The boxes, cases and cloths in which the Holy Relics are kept are each in themselves masterpieces. Some are made of gold, some of silver, and they are decorated with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, dazzling to the eye.

The Holy Relics are kept in the Hirka-i Saadet section of Topkapi Palace, as they have been for centuries, and can be visited. It used to be called the Has (private) apartment, and was one of the first buildings constructed by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror. It is an architectural masterpiece with four domes, an exedra and decorated with tiles. It was originally used as a conference room during the time of the Conqueror; and became the Hirka-i Saadet Apartment during the time of Yavuz Sultan Selim.

The swords of Caliphs Omer and OsmanAfter conquering Egypt the Sultan was given the title of Caliph, and while preparing to return to Istanbul the Sherif of Mecca sent his son Ebu Numey to Cairo to give the keys of Mecca and Medina and some of the relics to the Sultan. Yavuz was very pleased with this gesture of the Sherif of Mecca and issued an edict proclaiming that the Sherif should be left in his post. The Sultan returned to Istanbul with the relics and put them in the Has Apartment and the Topkapi Palace Treasury. Gradually a tradition grew up whereby visits were made to the relics with special ceremonies. Because the Hirka-i Saadet (cloak) of the Prophet Mohammad was among them, the rooms where the relics were kept were renamed after it. Today the Hirka-i Saadet is kept in a box made of solid gold upon which verses from the Koran are inscribed. This cloak is that which the Prophet Mohammad gave to the poet Kaab. Kaab had originally been against Mohammad, but later he repented and went secretly to Medina with a poem in praise of Mohammad which he had written, and found his way into the presence of the Prophet without revealing his identity:

— O, Mohammad! Kaab son of Zuheyr repents his doings. If he becomes a Moslem will you accept him? Upon receiving a positive reply he said:

— I am Kaab, and proceeded to read the poem which he had written. The Prophet was very pleased with the poem and taking off his cloak he presented it to Kaab. After Kaab’s death his heirs sold the cloak to the-Emevi rulers for twenty thousand drams of silver, and thus the cloak was passed first to the Emevis aind then into the hands of the Abbasis. Now it is among the relics which Sultan Selim brought to Istanbul.

Among the Holy Relics are the swords of the Prophet, a letter on parchment written by him called the ‘Name-i Saadet’, one of his seals made of cornelian stone, a piece of his tooth which broke during the battle of Uhut, the sacred banner of Mohammad, a hair from his beard, the swords of Ebubekir, Omer, Osman and Ali, a copy of the Koran written on gazelle skin which Osman was reading at his death, the footprint of the Prophet in porphyry, the lock and keys of the Kaabe in Mecca, two pieces from the cover of the Kaabe, a water pipe from the Kaabe, the cover of the Hacer’ul-esvet (the black stone in the Cubical House at Mecca) a gold light fitting decorated with precious stones, lamps, prayer carpets and many other valued objects.

The Hirka-i Saadet Apartment has recently been renovated and opened to the public.

Topkapı Holy Relics

Topkapı Palace Harem

After the conquest of Istanbul by Mehmed the Conqueror at 1453, construction of the Topkapı Palace was started at the year 1460 and completed at 1478 . Palace was built upon a 700.000 squaremeters area on an Eastern Roman Acropolis located at the Istanbul Peninsula between Sea of Marmara, Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. Topkapı Palace, was the administrative, educational and art center of the Empire for nearly four hundred years since Mehmed the Conqueror until Sultan Abdulmecid who is the thirty-first Sultan. Although Palace was abandoned by the Ottoman Dynasty by moving to the Dolmabahçe Palace at middle 19th century, Topkapı Palace was protected its importance everytime.

 

After the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, Topkapı Palace, was transformed into a museum at the date April 3th 1924 and it was also the first museum of the Republic of Turkey. Topkapı Palace Museum is covering approximately 400.000 squaremeters at the present day. Topkapı Palace divided from the city from the land-side by the Imperial Walls which is made by Mehmed the Conqueror. It divided from the city also from the sea-side by the Byzantine Walls. Topkapı Palace is one of the biggest palace-museums with its architectural structures, collections and approximately 300.000 archive papers.

 

There are surroundings like gardens and squares around the Palace. Palace which its Main Gate located at the Hagia-Sophia side, has four courtyards which has passages between them. At the first courtyard, Hagia-Irene Church which was used as Armory and the outer service buildings like Mint, Oven and Hospital were located there.

 

Second Courtyard was the Divan Square (Square of Justice) that hosting the administrative buildings fort the Empire. This courtyard was also a ceremonial courtyard. Divan-ı Hümayun (Kubbealtı / Imperial Council) and Treasury of the Divan-ı Hümayun were located on that courtyard. Behind the divan structure, there is the Tower of Justice which represents justice of the Sultan. Dormitory of the Halberdiers with Tresses and the Entrance of Harem were also located at this courtyard. There are also Privy Stable structures at the same side around an inner courtyard. At the Marmara side of the Courtyard of Justice, there are the Palace Kitchens and additional service buildings. Babüssaade (Gate of Felicity) where coronation, funeral and festival ceremonies held is located at the Northern side of the Courtyard of Justice.

 

The third Courtyard (Enderun – Inner Palace) was the section that the Palace aghas were educated and assigned to high ranks of the State. It formed by the dormitories and the structures belongs to the Sultan. Hall of Audience where Sultan accepts viziers and ambassadors, Enderun Library which was constructed by the Sultan Ahmed III, Treasury of Enderun also known as Conqueror’s Pavilion, Privy Room (Chamber of Sultan) and the Aghas’ Mosque which was constructed for the Enderun aghas at the reign of Fatih are the important structures of this courtyard. Courtyard is surrounded by the Big and Small Room Wards, Expeditionary Force Ward, Pantries’ Ward, Treasure Ward and the Privy Room Ward which added to the Privy Room at the 19th century.

 

From the Privy Room, and the Enderun Courtyard, there are passages to the Imperial Sofa courtyard which hosts to the kiosks and gardens. At the Marble Terrace part of this courtyard, there are Revan and Baghdat Kiosks, Circumsision Room and the Iftaree Canopy. Under this terrace, there is a hanging flower garden which surrounded by wooden Sofa Kiosk and the Tower of the Chief-Physician. At the Marmara side of this garden, there are Sofa Mosque, Mecidiye Kiosk and Wardrobe Room. It also known that there are lots of kiosks and service structures at the Privy Gardens which surrounds the Palace in axis of Maramara, Seraglio-Point and the Golden Horn.

Topkapı Palace Harem

Anatolian Civil. Mus.

The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations 

Located in the capital of Turkey, Ankara, the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations was awarded the European Museum of the Year in 1997. Consisting of unique artifacts belonging to the civilizations of Anatolia, the collection is one of its kind in the world.

This unique collection preserves the legacy of civilizations ranging from the Paleolithic era and the prehistoric times including Assyrian, Hittite, and the kingdoms of Phrygia and Urartu. It also includes a special section on Ankara.

Anatolian Civil. Mus.

Test Post from Visit Turkey -Travel to Turkey -Travel Guide to Turkey

Test Post from Visit Turkey -Travel to Turkey -Travel Guide to Turkey http://visitturkey.com.co