Mevlana Museum (Rumi)

Rumi, the 13th-century poet and mystic whose verses are read worldwide, lies beneath the green-tiled dome at the heart of Konya. In Turkey he is called Mevlana. His tomb, together with the lodge of the Mevlevi order, the whirling dervishes, makes up the Mevlana Museum. It costs nothing to enter and opens daily. Many Turkish visitors come as pilgrims; for travellers from abroad, nowhere gives a better first look at Sufism.

Key details

Background

Rumi was born in Balkh, now in Afghanistan, in 1207. As a young man he moved to Konya with his father, a well-regarded scholar, at a time when the city was the capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum. He worked as a teacher and preacher, and meeting Shams of Tabriz, a wandering dervish, transformed his life and fed his poetry. His major work, the Masnavi, contains about 25,000 couplets.

Rumi died on 17 December 1273. His followers raised the tomb and the Green Dome above his grave, and his son Sultan Veled shaped the Mevlevi order, with its music and its whirling ritual, the sema. Over the centuries the lodge expanded with dervish cells, a kitchen and a mosque. The Turkish Republic shut every Sufi lodge in 1925, and in 1927 the building opened again as a museum.

Highlights

• The tomb chamber. Beneath the painted, gilded ceiling of the Green Dome, Rumi's sarcophagus lies under embroidered cloth topped with a large turban. Nearby are his father's tomb and those of other relatives and members of the order.
• The semahane. Once the hall for the whirling ceremony, it now shows dervish costumes and musical instruments, among them the ney, the reed flute at the heart of Mevlevi music.
• Manuscripts. Fine copies of the Masnavi and the Quran, some illuminated in gold, displayed behind glass.
• The dervish cells. Small rooms around the courtyard use figures to show how dervishes lived and trained.
• The courtyard. A calm space with a fountain, beds of roses and the little domes of the cells.

The sema ceremony

You will not see the sema inside the museum. Regular performances are held at the Mevlana Cultural Centre, a few minutes' walk away; confirm the latest schedule. Every December Konya marks Rumi's death on 17 December with the Seb-i Arus, about ten days of ceremonies held each night. This is the city's busiest period, and both tickets and hotel rooms run out.

The sema is a religious rite. Nobody expects applause, and flash photography is forbidden.

When to go

Visit on a weekday morning for the calmest experience. Fridays, weekends and religious holidays draw big crowds of Turkish pilgrims, and the tomb chamber fills up. Spring and autumn make the courtyard pleasant; summers in Konya are hot and winters cold.

Our 1 Day Private Konya Tour flies you from Istanbul to Konya for a private day covering the Mevlana Museum, Rumi's tomb and the old madrasas and mosques of the city. Konya is also on the route of two overland trips that connect Cappadocia and Pamukkale: the 7 Days Turkey Tour Package and the 10 Days Private Turkey Tour Package.

Practical tips

• You can take photos in most rooms, but show respect around the tomb and leave people at prayer out of your shots.
• The Selimiye Mosque next door is a fine Ottoman building from the 16th century.
• Two more Konya highlights, the Karatay Tile Museum and the Ince Minareli Madrasa, are a 15-minute walk away.
• Try etli ekmek, a long, thin flatbread topped with meat, and firin kebab, another Konya speciality.

Find more of the city's sights on our Konya destination page.

Common questions