Istanbul Mevlana Museum of Literature

For a few centuries Istanbul was not just the capital of the Ottoman Empire. It was the center of Islamic life around the world, its spiritual focus. And, of course, all the cream of oriental literature society gathered in Istanbul. Very few things have changed since then: the whole world knows the name of the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, Orhan Pamuk. And the poems of poets of the Turkish Republic of the thirties, both traditionalists and modernists, are considered to be the golden fund of world literature. No wonder that there is a museum devoted to literature in Istanbul. It is called Divan Literature Museum.

The museum exhibits manuscripts of famous poets and writers of different periods of the Ottoman Empire. They are valuable not only as monuments of literature, but also calligraphy. Once you see them, you’ll go to that part of the palace which is called Mevlevihane. This is another, no less interesting part of Turkish culture, all which is associated with the phenomenon of dervishes – "dancing monks". You will see the costumes in which they were dancing, musical instruments and even letters of these wonderful Muslim devotees. All this was a part of the Mevlana sect - named in honor of Sufi prophet Mevlana - and banned after the appearance of the new state, the Turkish Republic, on the wreckage of the Ottoman Empire. Despite the ban, Mevlana illegally existed and still exists till now. Moreover, the current authorities put no restrictions on Mevlana. So you can see in the museum presentation of the monks and their dance - every second and fourth Sunday of the month. This is a part of the museum display.

The museum is open daily except Monday, from 9:30 to 17:00.