Sufi mystic Rumi remembered 744th year of his passing

Celebrations to commemorate the 744th death anniversary of Mevlana Jelaluddin al-Rumi’s passing, known as “Sheb-i Arus" (the night of union), ended Sunday in the central Anatolian province of Konya where he is buried.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Tourism and Culture Minister Numan Kurtulmus, former prime minister and Konya deputy of ruling Justice and Development Party Ahmet Davutoglu, Konya mayor Tahir Akyurek, and the vice presidents of the ruling party Ahmet Sorgun and Erol Kaya attended the Sheb-i Arus ceremony.

Scores of domestic and foreign visitors were also among the participants.

Centered around the theme the “Time of Brotherhood”, this year's celebrations took place between Dec. 7-17.

The 10-day commemoration covered more than 1,300 programs including international symposiums, exhibitions, workshops, auditions, meetings and a Mevlana movie screening, alongside Mesnevi lectures in Turkish and English.

The commemoration ended with a special ritual called Sema, also known as Mevlevi Ayin-i Sherif.

source: AA

18.12.2017