by “Let us turn toward Sema, attain the Mystery, and reach the truth…” – Rahmi Oruç Güvenç
The capital city of Ankara has gained a new Cultural and Arts Center with the opening of the Mevlevi lodge located within the Cenabi Ahmet Paşa Mosque. Rebuilt by the Altındağ Municipality, the Mevlevi lodge was officially opened with a ceremony held on December 14. At a concert organized by TÜMATA to mark the opening, semazen dancers from Turkey, Germany, Iran, and Russia performed the Sema.
The Cenabi Ahmet Pasha Mosque, which has gone down in history as Mimar Sinan’s only work in Ankara, was built in 1566 in the name of Cenabi Ahmet Pasha, who served as the Beylerbey of Anatolia. According to information obtained from historical documents, its complex originally included two mausoleums, a bathhouse, and a Mevlevi lodge, and the mosque was also used as the semahane (whirling dervish hall) of this Mevlevi lodge. The mosque underwent repairs in 1883, 1888, and 1940; the Ankara Mevlevi Lodge, however, could not be preserved and was demolished in 1929. Today, the Altındağ Municipality has built a new Mevlevi Lodge on the site of the demolished one.
Speaking at the opening of the Ankara Mevlevihane—which resembles a historic Ankara house—Altındağ Mayor Veysel Tiryaki noted that the municipality had designed the project and carried out both the construction and restoration; He noted that during the decorative restoration of this building—which will serve as a House of Culture and Arts—many artists from the Russian Federation, the Turkic Republics, and Turkey volunteered their time and donated their works, with support provided at various times by TÜRKSOY and the St. Petersburg Artists’ Union of Russia.
The Mevlevi lodge, which will serve as a House of Culture and Arts for the people of Ankara, also features a library containing works related to the folk epics, poems, and stories of various countries, as well as lounges.
[vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/ickVHdJl0ds” ratio=”16-9″]Video: Güvenç Özgür
The opening of the House of Culture and Arts on December 14, 2017, was attended by Hüseyin Yayman, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism; Enver Şeyhov, Head of the Russian Federal Agency’s Representative Office in Turkey; and Fırat Purtaş, Deputy Secretary-General of the International Organization for Turkish Culture (TÜRKSOY), diplomatic representatives of the Russian Federation, Altındağ Mayor Veysel Tiryaki, and numerous residents of Ankara.
At the Mevlevi House, which opened during the Week of Commemoration of Mevlana (Şeb-i Arus), semazen dancers from Turkey, Germany, Iran, and Russia performed the sema during a concert presented by TÜMATA (Turkish Music Research and Promotion Group) following the official speeches.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Oruç Güvenç, the founder of TÜMATA—who had been organizing Sema events both in Turkey and abroad since 2001 and had spearheaded countless intercultural initiatives and projects, and who passed away five months ago—was honored on this occasion.
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