Konya Rejoices in Mawlana Festival

By Ekrem Aytas - Zaman Online - Istanbul, Turkey

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

A festival to mark the 733rd anniversary of the great Sufi Mawlana Jalaladdin Rumi’s death was marked by the participation of thousands.

With a number of cultural activities, the city of Konya turned into a fairground. Tens of thousands of people of different religion and race speaking different languages gathered together under Mawlana’s message of tolerance. City hotels had been booked well in advance of the festival and additional accommodation opened every day. Those unable to participate in the festival could reach Mawlana through the Internet, newspapers or journals.

Konya Mayor Tahir Akyurek stressed that because of the overwhelming interest and the dramatic increase in the number of visitors, they had to make new arrangements.
According to the information Akyurek gave, Koreans, Japanese, British, Germans, Italians and Australians were most interested in the festival.

“Last year for the first time, considering the growing interest, the festival was increased to 10 days. However, it became evident that even this was not sufficient. This year, we made it 17 days. More than 70,000 visitors had the chance to participate in the festival this year.”

The Ministry of Culture’s whirling dervish show was the center of the festival, organized by the Mawlana Cultural Center of Konya.

Six exhibitions were opened. Panels and symposia were held at the Mawlana Museum and at the halls of the city cultural office.

“Mawlana’s works are best-sellers. There is a huge interest all over the world. Mawlana does not belong to Konya alone; he belongs to the world now,” said the Konya mayor.

Seb-i Arus, the last day of the festival, attracted a great deal of attention and participation. The occasion held in the Mawlana Cultural Center was attended by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan, Chair of the People’s Republican Party (CHP) Deniz Baykal, state ministers Nimet Cubukcu and Mehmet Aydin, Minister of Culture and Tourism Atilla Koc, Chair of State Council Sumru Cortoglu and foreign ambassadors.

The festival was broadcasted live and began with the artist Ahmet Ozhan’s performance, and continued with a whirling dervish show staged by the Turkish Sufi Music Band.

The entire occasion drew great attention from the audience, including Erdogan.

The prayer session held before the occasion at the Mawlana Museum was attended by thousands of people.

The great Islamic scholar Mawlana died on December 17, 1273. Mawlana described the day he died as his wedding night with God.