Tekke

Tekke is a term for a Sufi lodge or monastery in the Turkish-speaking and Persianate world. It denotes a place where dervishes or disciples live, study, and perform devotional practices under the guidance of a pir or sheikh. Tekkes functioned as both spiritual centers and social welfare institutions, offering instruction, charitable aid, hospitality to travelers, and communal meals.

Historically, tekkes appeared in the medieval period and spread through Anatolia, the Balkans, the Caucasus, and Central Asia as part of various Sufi orders, such as the Mevlevi, Bektashi, and Naqshbandi. Each tekke was associated with an order and had its own rituals, leadership, and rules. Daily life typically included prayer, study, dhikr (remembrance of God), and, in some orders, music or whirling.

Architecturally, tekkes typically featured a courtyard, a domed prayer hall or prayer room, living quarters for dervishes, kitchens, and a library or meeting room. Interiors were often decorated with calligraphy and geometric ornament, reflecting regional styles.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, many tekkes were closed or repurposed during modernization and secular reforms in the Ottoman Empire and successor states. Some survived as active centers within Sufi communities; others became museums, mosques, or cultural heritage sites. The term continues in modern Turkish and other languages to denote both historical lodges and, less commonly, still-operating centers.

See also: Khanqah, Zawiya, Dervish lodge.