Layout plan
[Picture source: © 1954 Unknown Attribution] [Picture source: © 1954 Unknown Attribution] The takiyya occupies a rather large plot. The already mentioned wall painting, as well as the ritual necessities of the Mawlawiyya order, give us some hints about the pre-19th-century layout. The ensemble consisted of a rectangular domed semaʾkhaneh, or auditorium, on the Eastern side of the courtyard, where the principal ceremony of the Mawlawiyya, the famous dervish dance, took place (fig. 1). The building is not dated by inscription, but its architectural layout and the decoration of the façade, with its yellow and black ablaq recalling Mamluk architecture, is typical of the very early Ottoman architecture of Aleppo.[1]
Figure 1: At-Takiyya al-Mawlawiyya, façade of old semaʾkhaneh [Picture source: © 1979 Michael Meinecke] 
Figure 2: At-Takiyya al-Mawlawiyya, ground plan [Picture source: © Unknown] The painting also displays a number of pieces (khalwat) on the eastern side of the courtyard that served as library. Two smaller rooms housed some tombs, among them that of the important Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ghani Dede (see below).[2] Ghazzi underlines the beauty and fine architecture of the buildings, next to the river Quwayq and the gardens, that perfectly corresponds to the Hama wall painting.[3] (fig. 2)
In 1250/1834-35 the aforementioned Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ghani Dede travelled to the empire’s capital Constantinople to raise funds to build a new semaʾkhaneh whose construction, an inscription informs us, was completed in 1261/1845-46 (fig. 3). This rectangular central domed structure is today the biggest building in the Mawlawiyya compound. Two storeys of large windows structure its outer façade and illuminate the interior. The center of the community’s life, it was the place where the famous dance of Mawlawiyya (called muqabala) was celebrated. The interior design conformed to the needs of these rituals: A balcony for the orchestra and the singers (pl. munshidin) was elevated above the entrance on the northeastern corner (fig. 4).[4] The muqabala itself took place on the ground floor below the dome, with the shaykh, as spiritual leader, probably standing close to the prayer niche (mihrab) on the southern side, facing the dervishes. (fig. 5) Wooden balconies formerly projected from the eastern and western walls. Audiences were welcome and contributed to the popularity of the order. For this reason, we find descriptions of the dervish dance in a number of European travelogues.
The western part of the complex, towards the river Quwayq, consisted of one aisle (riwaq) of small rooms. The successor of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ghani, ʿAmil Dede, constructed a second storey on top of that riwaq and a new kitchen around 1320/1902-03. Ghazzi informs us that the same ʿAmil Dede initiated the celebration of the Friday prayer in the semaʾkhane in 1315/1897-98, thus opening the takiyya to the inhabitants of the surrounding neighborhoods.[5] The minaret above the entrance to the compound also dates from the end of the Ottoman period.[6] (fig. 6)
To the east of the new semaʾkhane, roughly between the new one and the old one, we find the takiyya’s cemetery, displaying a number of beautiful tombstones from the end of the Ottoman period, confirming once again the importance of the Takiyya al-Mawlawiyya for Ottoman bureaucrats. There is a fountain to the north of the cemetery, and the ablutions and sanitary facilities are today located on the northern side of the compound. (fig. 7)
Figure 6: At-Takiyya al-Mawlawiyya, main entrance with minaret [Picture source: © 2005 Lamia Jasser] 
Figure 7: At-Takiyya al-Mawlawiyya, tombstones in the courtyard [Picture source: © 2011 Issam Hajjar] 