This paper examines the impact of the secularization efforts that took place in the early twentieth century Turkey on the tradition of saint veneration within the contexts of venerations of Mevlana Rumi and Haji Bektash Veli. The research is based on primary sources, i.e. national newspapers published during the 20th century, and secondary sources. In the early 20th century, Turkish experiences with secularization and modernization transformed the saint veneration traditions from intimate spiritual experiences into public, civic ceremonies. This historical process has started with the suppression of the popular religion. Dervish lodges, tombs, and shrines were closed down and gatherings in those places were banned with a law on November 30, 1925 as a part of the larger efforts of eliminating the community based autonomous religious networks. The mausoleums were closed to visits and rites of veneration on the mausoleum sites were banned. This ban was a part of the forced secularization process in Turkey and indirectly initiated the process of innovation in the rites and sites of saint veneration. Starting from the next decade, certain mausoleums have been re-opened as museums. However, these sites were cleansed from religious practices including the veneration ceremonies. Localities with strong traditions of saint veneration have overcome this official obstacle by initiating ambiguously secular public festivals commemorating their principal saints. On March 2, 1927, Rumi’s mausoleum and the lodge were opened as a museum, “Asar-i Atika Muzesi”; but no Mevlevi ceremony was allowed. Commemoration of Rumi with traditional Shab-i Arus rituals, such as the recitation of “naat-i Sharif,” and the performance of “Sema,” was not possible. The initiation of a secular, public festival created an opportunity to communally commemorate Rumi and in time to revive core commemoration rituals in public festive forms. This historical process started in 1942 at the Konya Halk Evi and evolved into an international festival. Similarly, the opening of the Bektashi lodge in Hacibektas as a museum seems to create an opportunity to initiate a public commemoration of Haji Bektas Veli on August 16, 1964. Since then, an annual public commemoration of Haji Bektash has been held in Hacibektas starting on the 16th of August. The annual festival transformed the traditionally private commemoration of Haji Bektash into a secular public event. In spite of the official ban, devotees continued to practice religious rituals related to saint veneration tradition under the protest and surveillance of the museum personnel.