Abdurrahman Tevruz

Abdurrahman Tevruz was born in 1982 in Kasımpaşa, Beyoğlu, Istanbul. He completed his primary education at Piri Reis Primary School and graduated from Beyoğlu Vocational High School of Commerce. He later earned a degree from the Faculty of Business Administration at Anadolu University. From an early age, Tevruz developed a deep interest in Sufi culture. In 1995, he completed his sema (whirling) training in Üsküdar and joined his first Sema Ceremony at the historic Galata Mevlevihanesi, the first Mevlevi lodge in Istanbul. Since then, he has participated in hundreds of events in over 40 countries, taking part in Sufi rituals such as the Mevlevi Sema, devran, and meshk, serving as a whirling dervish (semazen), vocalist, dhakir, instructor, choreographer, cultural consultant, and narrator. Between 1999–2010, he served in various roles at the Mevlana Education and Culture Association. He began teaching sema in 2001. Over the years, he has contributed to many national and international film and documentary projects, and represented Türkiye in four national promotional films. In 2003, he represented Türkiye with a sema performance at the World Economic Forum in Davos. In 2007, during the UNESCO-declared Year of Rumi, he participated in research delegations and was featured in the official UNESCO publication. That same year, he was among the first performers at the newly restored Yenikapı Mevlevihanesi, where he later organized Mevlevi ceremonies and Mesnevi gatherings. In 2007 (Morocco) and 2010 (Istanbul Capital of Culture), he staged "Sufi Devran"—a choreographed production presenting various Sufi rituals with over 40 artists—which has since toured internationally. The project continues today under the Istanbul Sufi Ceremonies Ensemble. In 2008, he co-founded the Istanbul Education, Culture, and Arts Association at the restored Sünbül Efendi Asitanesi. Since 2011, he has served as semazenbaşı (chief whirling dervish) at major venues including Galata, Yenikapı, Bahariye Mevlevihanes, and the Mevlana Shrine in Konya. Between 2012–2015, he represented Türkiye at the “Peace Ceremonies” held in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan, offering commemorative Sufi messages and performances. He co-founded the İnsan ve İrfan Foundation in 2013, where he continues to serve on the board. In 2015, he joined a TİKA–Ministry of Culture research delegation exploring the Sufi and dervish lodge traditions across the Balkans. He also co-founded Konya’s İrfan Civilization Research and Cultural Center and Konyanüma in 2017. In 2018, he began serving as a guest artist at the Istanbul State Turkish Music Ensemble. In 2019, he officially joined the Istanbul Sufi Ceremonies Ensemble as a contracted artist. In 2020, he passed the Ministry’s competitive exam with high distinction and was appointed as semazenbaşı, a role he continues to fulfill. Since 2016, he has supported the restoration of the Kasımpaşa Mevlevihanesi—his lifelong dream. In 2024, he became one of its official founding members. Abdurrahman Tevruz is married with two children. He speaks Persian and English, and conducts ongoing studies in classical Persian literature, including readings of Sa'di Shirazi’s Gulistan.