The integrated conservation of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Mevlevilik; Konya example

Since the second half of the 20th century, the debates about the need to protect the built environments together with their cultural values have led to preservation approaches in which the tangible and intangible qualities of cultural heritage are conserved together. Preservation experts have agreed that preservation studies should consider these two items as a whole. In this thesis study, it is aimed to contribute to the integrated conservation of the tangible and intangible qualities of Mevlevism. Through history, Mevlevism has change to a high extent under the influence of developments in political, social, technological, etc. developments. Particularly, the change in the lifestyles of the societies, the fact that technology plays a more active role in human life, and the laws concerning the sects play a big role in the process of change of Mevlevism. Mevlevi lodges are closed and Mevlevism lost its spatial context in accordance with the law that was published in the early years of establishment of the Republic of Turkey. This caused distortions in the traditions transmitted orally in the Mevlevi lodges. As a consequence of this, sema, the ritual of the Mevlevi order, has been transformed into a cultural practice rather than a religious one, which was moved away from the specially designed "semahane"s, especially since the year 2000. In this thesis study, the relations between the tangible and intangible qualities of Mevlevism and sema ceremony, which was included in "The List of Spiritual and Healing Masterpieces Left in Humanity" by UNESCO in 2005, have been evaluated by analysing the interviews that were carried out with the public, academicians and whirling dervishes. In the scope of the study, literature survey and archive search on tangible and intangible cultural heritage were realized. Moreover, Mevlevism, "Mevlevihane"s (historical lodges used by Mevlevi Dervishes) have been investigated and observations on Konya Mevlevi lodges were made. Additionally, interviews with the "sema" ceremony spectators, the "semazen"s ("sema" performers) and the managers of the sema organization were realized. As a result of the research, it has come to the conclusion that tradition may degenerate if the tangible and intangible qualities of Mevlevism are not conserved together. Therefore proposals on the integrated conservation of the tangible and the intangible qualities were developed. Keywords: Cultural Heritage, Tangible and intangible cultural heritage, Mevlevism, Mevlevi lodges