Dervishes Sharing a Meal

A dervish lodge in Istanbul, called a tekke, was a household as much as a place of worship. Besides its prayer hall it had living quarters, a library, a kitchen and a dining hall, and this small canvas, 33 by 43 centimetres, shows the brothers at a meal together. They wear long woollen robes and the sikke, the tall conical felt hat.

That hat marks the Mevlevi order, and for the Mevlevi the kitchen was also a school. A newcomer began by serving there for 1001 days, cooking, cleaning and waiting at table, before he was accepted as a full member of the lodge.