Dervesh calligraphy.

Of the numerous orders of Islam, Sufism is defined as the inner and mystical dimension. The Mevlevi Order was formed in 1312 in the Turkish city of Konya (formerly the capital of the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate) by the followers of the 13th century Persian poet, Islamic theologian, and Sufi mystic Jalāl Ud- Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (or Mevlânâ). Organized by Mevlânâ’s son, Sultan Walad, the order in Konya soon began to expand into other towns with appointed leaders, and in its heyday there were 114 tekke (monasteries) established throughout the Ottoman Empire, including ones in Belgrade, Athens, Cairo, Mecca, Baghdad, Damascus, and Tabriz.

With the fall of the Ottoman Empire after WWI, the Sufi organizations were declared illegal, and the tekkes were either closed down, adapted into mosques, or turned into museums. Two of the most important remaining Mevlevihane are the ones in Konya (where Mevlânâ is buried) and the Galata Mevlevihanesi in Istanbul. By 1953 public performances of the Mevlevi Sema, or the Whirling Prayer Ceremony, were permitted by the Turkish government, and soon large crowds came from all over the world to watch displays organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.