Galata Mevlevi Lodge Museum Ticket
A timber Ottoman dervish lodge at the bottom of İstiklal Street, founded in 1491 and now a museum of Mevlevi life. The octagonal semahane — the hall where the Sema was performed — is the heart of it.
- At the gate
- £5.95
- Allow
- 1h 30m
- District
- Galata
- Closed
- Open daily
The Galata Mevlevi Lodge, in short
A timber Ottoman dervish lodge at the bottom of u0130stiklal Street, founded in 1491 and now a museum of Mevlevi life. The octagonal semahane u2014 the hall where the Sema was performed u2014 is the heart of it.
After the stone and cast-iron of Beyou011flu, the wooden courtyard comes as a genuine surprise.
Opening hours
Open daily except Mondays.
What it costs
Walk-up entry is u20ac7, free for children under eight. Included on the pass. No advance booking needed.
Getting there
At Tu00fcnel Square, where u0130stiklal Street ends and Galip Dede Street begins. Take the M2 metro to u015eiu015fhane, or the Tu00fcnel funicular up from Karaku00f6y.
How long to allow
Thirty to forty minutes for the lodge, the semahane and the cemetery, where the ornate headstones carry carved dervish hats indicating each occupant's rank.
What is inside
Instruments, calligraphy, robes and manuscripts alongside the semahane itself. The Sema ceremony grew out of Rumi's turning in 13th-century Konya, and this lodge is where the practice was maintained in Istanbul for over four centuries until the orders were closed in 1925.
Frequently asked questions
- Every day except Mondays.
- No. Walk in during opening hours.
- u20ac7, free for under-eights, and included on the pass.
- The lodge is a museum. Sema ceremonies are performed at other venues in the city, and your pass covers one.