Sema Performances in İstanbul
a. Sirkeci Train Station, Sirkeci Eminönü
Turkish Mystic Music and Dance
Turkish Sufi Music and Whirling Ceremony
PROGRAM DAYS
Every Wednesday , Friday and Sunday 19:30
Check In : 19:15
Duration:1 hour
PLACE
İstanbul Sirkeci Train Station Event Hall@Platform No:1 Sirkeci
This is where the famed Orient Express ended its run from Paris, at the 19th-century Orientalist station near Seraglio Point beneath the walls of Topkapi Palace, right next to Eminönü, its ferry docks, and Galata Bridge.
Organization
Contact
Kemal Çakırgöz
Tel: 212 458 8834
212 458 8835
Fax: 212 661 1968
E-mail: sirkeci@rumi2007.net
Presented by
Galata Mevlevileri
B. Galata Mevlevihanesi Museum:
Galip dede Caddesi No: 15 Tünel Beyoğlu
The Same group “Galata Mevlevileri” performs at the Galata Mevlevihanesi Museum every first and third Sunday of each month throughout the year at 15:00 between October and May and at 17:00 in the other months .
The Mevlevihane
The Galata Mevlevihane was the first Mevlevi dervish lodge established in Istanbul, although the building we see today dates from much later. The original building was constructed in 1491 during the reign of Sultan Bayezid II (1481-1512) on a hunting estate belonging to iskender Pasa. It was known as Kulekapi Mevlevihane or later as Galip Dede Dergâh. The first leader of the dervish community here was Sultan-i Divani Sema'i Mehmed Dede, followed by Safi Dede, under whom the lodge really became active The building was subsequently used by the Halveti order, and only repaired and restored as a Mevlevi lodge in the seventeenth century by Sirri Abdi Dede. When Sahir-i Mesnevi ismail Rusuhi Dede was appointed in his place, Abdi Dede was obliged to leave the dergah, and as a result founded the Kasimpasa Mevlevihane.
In the early 17th century Evliya Celebi records that the Mevlevihane had a hundred dervish cells, but none of the buildings from this century remain apart from the fountain dated 1649 built in the courtyard by Director of Customs Hasan Aga, who was executed for his part in the uprising of 1656.
Gavsi Ahmed Dede was the first in a Mevlevi family which served as seyh of the lodge until the mid-18th century, and he was succeeded by Safi Musa Dede, seyh of the Kasimpasa and Yenikapi Mevlevi lodges. Towards the end of the 18th century, under Abdulhamid 1, the Mevlevi order was shaken by rivalry between defferent seyhs for control. However, with the accession of the reformist Selim III (1789-1808) it began to play a central role in the progressive movement for modernisation of the empire. The first seyh of Galata Mevlevihane during Selim's reign was Mehmed Es'ad Dede, better known as Seyh Galip (1757-1799), the famous poet whose work mainly treats mystic themes. During his time the lodge was extensively repaired, and the semahane or hall where the dervishes whirled into a trance of communion with God was rebuilt. He also restored the cells and wooden tombs.
The most renowned seyh of the 19th century was Kudretullah Dede, who held the post from 1818 to 1871, and it was during his time that most of the buildings we see today were constructed, with the assistance of Sultan Mahmud II. Kudretullah Dede, who is buried in the tomb facing the street, was succeeded by his son, Mehmet Abdullah Dede, who also carried out extensive repairs on the buildings. The last seyh of the lodge was Ahmed Celaleddin Dede. The lodge was closed down along with those of all the mystic Islamic orders in 1925, on the grounds that they were sources of reactionary movements against the programme of modernisation launched in the new Turkish Republic established by Ataturk two years earlier.
To the right of the entrance stand a sebil (fountain for the distribution of drinking water to the public),a room in which astronomical instruments for the calculation of time were kept, library and school. The main building where the semahane, apartment of the seyh and cells of the dervishes are located faces the entrance, with a cistern and sadirvan (fountain for ablutions) to the west, kitchens and laundry to the northwest, Hasan Aga's fountain to the north, and the tombs of Seyh ismail Rusuhi Dede and Seyh Galih Dede to the south.The tombs of ibrahim Muteferrika, who founded the first Ottoman printing press in the 18th century, Humbaracibasi Ahmed Pasa, a leading figure in the reform of the Ottoman army in the 18th century, and Leyla Saz the famous 19th century poetess and composer can also be seen at Galata Mevlevihane.
Group Galata Mevlevileri
Group Galata Mevlevileri is the Sema Group of Mevlâna Education and Cultural Society which has been officially founded in 1999 at Istanbul.
The Society, formed with love and pride for serving Turkish culture and accordingly having the discipline of soul required to achieve this end, is deters and Folk Music, Turkish Instrumental lessons, as well as studies on Semâ and other forms of Sufi Music.
As a principle, our Society presents the world with Turkish Culture in its truest sense through its participation in performances and festivals.
With this consciousness, our Society offers training in various branches of Turkish Classical Music and Turkish Folk Music, that are two corner stones of Turkish culture, and organizes activities as a result of these trainings.
In the Turkish Classical Music field, we offer professional Classical music, Instrumental music and Fasıl (Classical choirs) with our Sufi Women's Choir and a Sema (Whirling Dervish ritual) Group. In addition, an Urfa Sıra Gecesi group (traditional artist introduction gatherings), formed completely from professional names became a part of our activities.
As a Society, our goal is to introduce valuable works of our music and culture, and acquaint all provinces of Turkey with these works.
