Vuslat

By TZ Reporter, *10-day Mevlana memorial celebrations near end* - Today's Zaman - Istanbul, Turkey; Thursday, December 15, 2011

10-day Mevlana memorial celebrations near end

Activities to commemorate the 738th anniversary of Mevlana Muhammad Jelaluddin Rumi’s passing, also know as the “Vuslat” (reunion with the Beloved), have been taking place in many cities, especially in Konya, where Mevlana is buried.

The celebrations that began on Dec. 7 with a magnificent show at the Konya Mevlana Cultural Center, with 2,700 spectators, will continue until the evening of Şeb-i Arus, or the “Wedding Evening,” which is held annually on December 17.

The main event during the 10 days was the sema (whirling dervish ceremony) presented by the whirling dervishes of the Konya Turkish Sufi Music Association.

The association’s art director, Yusuf Kaya, told the Anatolian news agency that the sema is performed twice a day during the 10-day commemoration by dervishes who worked hard to ensure there were no mistakes during in their performances and got their strength from their love of Mevlana.

According to Kaya, the association has been organizing sema performances for 20 years and every year they draw more spectators, including from foreign countries.

“We organize performances in other countries -- mostly European -- where we receive great interest from people. ... We believe that our mission is to introduce Mevlana and Turkey to the rest of the world and this mission gives us the strength to carry out hundreds of performances with a busy schedule throughout the year,” Kaya said, adding that by declaring 2007 “The Year of Mevlana,” the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) raised Mevlana’s popularity throughout the world.

Apart from the sema performances, roughly 150 events, including symposiums, conferences and plays on Mevlana and his teachings, and 29 exhibitions featuring photos, ceramics and ebrus, Turkish marbled paper, were organized.

This year’s concept for the 10-day celebrations is “heavenly light.” Last year “divine love” was the theme, which the events were centered around.

Unlike previous years, this year’s Şeb-i Arus ceremony will be hosted by the Galata Mevlevihanesi (Lodge House), which was recently reopened to visitors after a four-year restoration project.

Another significant Şeb-i Arus ceremony will be held in İstanbul’s Üsküdar district, where a sema performance is to take place against the backdrop of the Maiden’s Tower.