The painted vaults of the tomb hall
Structure thirteenth to sixteenth century; painted decoration renewed in the nineteenth century
Most visitors keep their eyes on the sarcophagi, but the ceilings of the tomb hall deserve a long look. The hall is a sequence of domed bays, and the one directly in front of Rumi's grave is called the Postlar Kubbesi, the Dome of the Sheepskins, because the sheepskin seats of the order's leaders once lay beneath it. Its vault is a honeycomb of muqarnas, the stalactite like cells that Seljuk and Ottoman builders used to turn a square room into a circle, and every cell is painted with flowers, arabesques and Arabic script in red, blue, gold and green. A small lantern at the top lets in a shaft of daylight.
Look at how the painting follows the geometry. Each tier of the muqarnas carries its own motif, so that the pattern seems to spin inward toward the centre, and the medallions on the flat surfaces repeat the names of God and the Prophet and short prayers. The colours are bright because they were renewed in the nineteenth century, when the lodge was at its wealthiest under the patronage of the Ottoman sultans, but the underlying plasterwork is far older. Along the walls, between the domes, hang large panels of calligraphy and Ottoman mosque lamps, and the hall is lit softly so that the gilding glows rather than glitters.
The tomb hall was expanded several times as the number of graves grew, and the painted decoration was one way in which each generation left its mark. Standing here you are in a room that was completed over three centuries and repainted over another three, and that has never been a museum in the ordinary sense. It was built to be walked through slowly, with a prayer at the end, and that is still the best way to see it.
Did You Know? The bay is named after the sheepskins on which the sheikhs of the order sat, the seat itself being the symbol of leadership among the Mevlevis.
Unlock the Full Guide
Read every room and listen to every work in all museums with premium.