Al-Takiya Al-Mawlawiya (or Al-Tekeyya Al-Mawlawiyah) is an old Sufi Hospice in Tripoli, North Lebanon.
Al-Takiya Al-Mawlawiya is located alongside Nahr Abou Ali river, and was built around 1028 AH (1619 AD) next to Maqam Sayedna Khodr, attributed to Sufis known as Dervishes that took it as their headquarters.
Takiya is not to be confused with Taqiyah (Muslim cap) or Taqiyya (practice in Islam whereby adherents may conceal their beliefs under threat). Takiya is both a Turkish word (to recline and rely on something for comfort and relaxation) and an Arabic word from the verb ‘Ittaka2a’ (to rely on).
Takiyyat Al-Daraweesh Al-Mawlawiyah’s infrastructure consists of a large inner lounge, Al-Sama3 Khana a room used for prayer and Mystic Sufi Whirling Dance, sleeping rooms for the devotees and residents, a reception room for the public, a Harem headquarters for the Dervishes’ families, in addition to a dining room with a kitchen.
The Hospice played a social role essentially, hosting travelers in need of food and shelter, and offering them a place to exercise their religious rituals and to freshen up. It was also a center for the development of thought, music and poetry in addition to the promotion of spirituality and worship.
Takiyyat Al-Daraweesh Al-Mawlawiyah of Tripoli remained in service up until the early sixties, with its last Sheiks being Sheikh Anwar Al-Mawlawi, who died in 1963, the father of the current Secretary-General of the Islamic Group in Lebanon Sheikh Faisal Al-Mawlawi.
The Dervishes’ hospice of Tripoli received over the years many admirative Arab and foreign travelers, with the first recorded visit by Ibn Mahasn Al-Dimashki. Sheikh Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi visited the hospice in the late seventeenth century, and was so taken by its beauty he equated it to Paradise. In the first third of the nineteenth century, the British orientalist John Karen also visited the premises and was also overwhelmed by its enchanting beauty.
In the summer of 1919, Dutch orientalist Fedi Young also visited the Takiya and mentioned it in his research.
In 2010, Turkey sponsored its full restoration as part of a larger rehabilitation project that covered Ottoman landmarks in the region.
The Takiya Al-Mawlawiya in Tripoli is expected to reopen its doors to the public soon in May 2011, and might include a small integrated museum with artifacts and historical elements related to Dervishes’ occult.
Al-Tekeyya Al-Mawlawiyah is not far from the Citadel of Tripoli.