What is "cemevi"

Cem Evi / Cemevi (pronounced and sometimes written as Djemevi) means literally a house of gathering in Turkish or more precisely, house of [the religious ritual called] cem. Cemevis are places of fundamental importance for Turkey's Alevi- Bektashiyyah tariqa populations and traditions. Alevi organizations such as Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli Anadolu Kültür Vakfı describe cemevis as places of worship, and ask for this to be officially recognized.

However, according to the Presidency of Religious Affairs of Turkey, cemevis are not places of worship (because Laïcité in Turkey cannot allow by laws any one of those like Imambargah, Khalwatkhana, Mejlis, Musallah or Tekkes except Sunni and Ja'fari- Shi’ite mosques as Muslim worship places) in the strict sense of the term.