Official Duty and Riyāzah
Ken’ân Rifâî’s first post in the Ministry of Education was in the Karesi district of Balıkesir.
On July 1, 1889, he took office as the principal of Karesi Secondary School. He also taught French and general history at the same institution.
The Karesi sanjak of Balıkesir had become a new province by merging with the Biga sanjak shortly before Ken’ân Rifâî took office. For this reason, the educational situation in the region was not good. When the Karesi middle school was officially opened, there was no school building yet, so the big mansions of the neighborhood were used for education.
Ken’ân Rifâî furthered his own spiritual education while working as a principal at a secondary school. Under the supervision of his sheikh Filibeli Edhem Efendi, he gained a deep experience of the Kâdirî path. His mentor also directed him to Turkish music during this period. Ken’ân Rifâî had taken violin and piano lessons during his education at Galatasaray High School. In Balıkesir, the ney was added to these. In a short time, his talent in makam music attracted attention.
The Balıkesir years offered Ken’ân Rifâî the opportunity to explore the spiritual aspects of art and to incorporate them into his inner journey. For him, the practice of blowing the ney was not only a musical practice, but also a mystical dhikr and spiritual discipline.
