5th International Mystic Music Festival

Staff report, "Konya readies for 5th Mystic Music Festival" - Today's Zaman - Istanbul, Turkey
Thursday, September 18, 2008

The fifth edition of the International Mystic Music Festival will get under way next Monday [September 22] in the central Anatolian province of Konya, paying tribute to Mevlana Muhammed Jelaluddin Rumi on the 801st anniversary of his birth.

Konya, home to the 13th century Sufi saint and poet's tomb, will welcome mystic music ensembles from five countries, including Iran, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Greece and Senegal for this year's festival, which is being held two months earlier than originally scheduled in December.

Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Mustafa Çıpan told reporters that the rescheduling was aimed at avoiding a probable overlapping of the festival with other December events and ceremonies commemorating Mevlana on the anniversary of his death, to allow more viewers to attend both events.

He said the last day of the nine-day festival, Sept. 30, would now coincide with the first day of the Ramadan holiday, which is also celebrated as the anniversary of Mevlana's birth. "Thus we will celebrate both occasions together," Çıpan said.

The festival will open with a ney (reed flute) concert by Turkey's Dinle Ney'den ensemble.

Thione Seck, one of Senegal's greatest musicians in the mbalax genre, will be on stage on the festival's eighth day. The festival will wrap up on Sept. 30 with a performance by the Konya Sufi Music Ensemble. Admission to all concerts in the festival will be free of charge.

[Program at Turquoise Production http://www.turquoiseproduction.com/en/evenement.htm].