The famous Museum of Mevlevi Tekke is located in the Turkish part of Nicosia, near the Kyrenia gate. This place is relatively small and is completely unlike all the other museums of Cyprus. The building itself was built in the late XVI century by order of the Governor-General Arap Ahmet Pasha after the capture of Cyprus by the Ottomans. He, as commander of the Turkish army Lala Mustafa Pasha, belonged to the Mevlevi sect.

The Mevlevi order, or the Order of dancing dervishes, who were followers of Sufism is quite a popular course in Islamic philosophy, was founded by the mystic poet of Jalaleddin Rumi. It is for their ritual dances – Sam – they were called "whirling dervishes": the sound of the tambourine and flute, they began to spin, until you fell into a state of exaltation, believing that thus attain Union with God.

The order was very influential, and belonged to the monastery a large area: in addition to housing for the residents, support spaces and a large garden, and there were rooms for guests. However, in 1925, Ataturk officially banned Sufism, and at the same time and broke up the order, and the inhabitants of the monastery of the Mevlevi had to leave him. The building was converted into a shelter for children, then there were opened several exhibitions.

Only in 2002 after a major refurbishment, this building was established ethnographic Museum, which consists of several rooms. On the first floor is the exhibition, which collected household items used by the dervishes of the poem by the founder of the sect Rumi, musical instruments and paintings. Also there is a large room that hosted the sacred dance of the dervishes. Next to it opens the passage leading to the 16 tombs of sheikhs.