Yenikapı Mevlevi Lodge

Built by Malkoç Mehmed Efendi, the head clerk/chief aide of the Janissaries, in 1597-98, the opening of Yenikapı Mevlevihanesi was attended by Sultan III. Mehmed, the grand vizier, and other state officials.

Yenikapı Mevlevihanesi is the second oldest among the Mevlevihanes (Sufi lodges) in Istanbul, following the Galata Mevlevihanesi. Over time, the lodge has become a complex and has been referred to as an asitane, recognized as the largest center of the Mevlevi order in Istanbul. Besides donations from charitable foundations, Yenikapı Mevlevihanesi has received financial and repair assistance from many patrons, particularly from the Ottoman sultans and other high-ranking state officials.

Important figures such as Buhurizade Mustafa Itri, Şeyh Gâlib, and Hammamizade İsmail Dede Efendi were raised at the Yenikapı Mevlevihanesi. Due to the Balkan and Çanakkale wars, the lodge was used as a hospital and later served as a student dormitory for an extended period when other tekkes (Sufi lodges) were shut down. It has suffered from several devastating fires. In collaboration with Zeytinburnu Municipality, the General Directorate of Foundations restored the Mevlevihane from 2004-2009, and it is now allocated to the Fatih Sultan Mehmed Foundation University.