KONYA
The entire Konya basin
was a lake 18 thousand years ago. Over 10 thousand
years, it had drained to form a rich alluvial
plain with fertile grazing land in the east
and thick forest to the west and south.
Size: 5th largest city
Altitude: 1,028 m / 3,372 ft
Industry: Aluminum, chrome, textiles, sugar,
cement, animal foods, salt
Agriculture: Grain (90%), chickpeas, sugar beets,
apples, grapes
Animal husbandry: Sheep
History: Chalcolithic, Hittite, Phrygian, Cimmerian,
Lydian, Persian, Alexander the Great, Pergamum,
Roman, Seljuk, Ottoman, Turkish Republic
In the days of the Roman Empire, Konya was called
Iconium, "the city of icons". Konya
has become a place of pilgrimage for Moslems
because the leader of the Mevlevis, Mevlana
Celaleddin Rumi was buried there.
The Mevlevis
The Mevlevi order of whirling dervishes is a
mystic group whose members are followers of
Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, a great Turkish poet
and mystic. The brotherhood is based in Konya,
where its founder is buried.
Mevlana was never the head of an order, and
the brotherhood was not established by himself
but by his followers and devoted companions.
The order derived its essence, rites, moral
code and discipline from the mystical path first
shown by Mevlana. It was a synthesis of spiritual
love attained by a combination of music and
dance which was considered to be the basic requirement
for the spiritual ecstasy and devotion.
Mevlana was born in 1207 in Balkh, Afghanistan.
His father, Bahaeddin Veled, was a distinguished
teacher who, because of his great learning,
had been honored with the title of Lord of Scholars.
Possibly because of the threat imposed by the
approaching Mongolian armies, Bahaeddin decided
to take his family away from Balkh. They went
to several places and after staying here and
there, Bahaeddin felt drawn to Anatolia and
came to Karaman in 1221. There they stayed for
7 years and Mevlana was married in 1225.
Alaattin Keykubat, the ruler of Konya, implored
him to come to Konya. Bahaeddin finally acceded
to the sultan’s request in 1228 and he
taught in Konya until his death in 1231. Mevlana
took his father’s place and quickly established
a reputation for scholarship. He had an extensive
understanding of all aspects of philosophy and
was an avid reader of the works of classical
authors.
One day in 1244, he met a ragged dervish who
asked him a number of searching questions. This
was the man known as Shams Tabrizi. Shams and
Mevlana quickly became close friends and spent
days and weeks closeted together in philosophical
discussion. Mevlana left his teaching and appeared
rarely in public. This caused jealousy and anger
among his students and friends who believed
that he had been bewitched by an evil sorcerer.
In 1246 Shams disappeared as suddenly and as
mysteriously as he had appeared. Mevlana became
crazy and wrote poems about the separation of
Shams. After long inquiries he finally learned
that Shams was in Damascus. He wrote him letters
begging him to return. Shams returned and their
friendship and discussions resumed. In order
to draw him more into his family, Mevlana offered
his adopted daughter to Shams in marriage. However,
one night in 1247, Shams disappeared for good.
He was most probably murdered by his enemies.
Mevlana could not be comforted. He gave himself
again to writing poetry about Shams. This time
it was Husameddin Celebi who helped him to continue
his philosophical speculations. He inspired
him to write his greatest work, the "Mesnevi".
It was a collection of 25,600 poems in 6 volumes.
In 1273, Mevlana became sick and people around
him knew that he was dying and they cried in
sorrow. He told his friends that death was union
with God and he was longing for this union.
Finally he died on December 17, 1273, was buried
in Konya, and a tomb was built upon his sarcophagus.
His views
Mevlana was not a man of reason, he was on the
contrary a man of love and affection. His aim
was unification with God. According to him God
could not fit into the universe but fit into
the heart. Therefore we have to tend to the
heart and not to reason.
"Come,
come again, whoever, whatever you may be, come:
Heathen,
fire-worshipper, sinful of idolatry, come.
Come
even if you have broken your penitence a hundred
times,
Ours
is not the portal of despair and misery, come."
Instead
of dealing with scholars of the time, Mevlana
tended towards simple people like Husameddin
Celebi who was regarded as ignorant by others.
According to Mevlana, a scholar was like a person
carrying a big sack of bread on his shoulder.
But, he asked, what was the maximum number of
loaves they could eat?
The Sema
The Sema, rite of communal recitation practiced
by the Mevlevis was traditionally performed
in the semahane. It symbolized the attainment
of the various levels of mystical union with
God and of absolute perfection through spiritual
fervor and controlled ecstasy.
The sheik is the representative of Mevlana on
earth. From the sheik’s animal skin garment
extends an imaginary line across the floor of
the chamber which is regarded as the cosmic
guide to the ultimate truth.
The dervish wears a white coat over a long white
skirt, which represents his burial garment.
These are covered by a black cloak, which represents
his tomb. The conical brown or white felt hat
represents his tombstone. The only difference
in the sheik’s clothing is that his hat
is encircled by a dark band. The ceremony starts
with a communal recitation followed by a recital
of the flute. Wailing of the flute expresses
longing for the ultimate.
Before beginning their dance the dervishes bow
to the sheik and kiss his hand. Then they let
fall their black cloaks to symbolize their escape
from the tomb and readiness to dance for God,
they begin to turn slowly. Right arms are above
the body palm facing upward whereas left hands
face downward. This symbolizes that what they
get from God’s grace and blessing, they
pass on to the world.
The dancers begin to move faster and faster.
According to Mevlana, with the Sema, dervishes
can reach out and touch the "ultimate".
Tour
starts at 09.00 and finishes at 17.00
50
euro per person
Travel:
