KONYA: The skirts of whirling dervishes twirl in a symphony of disco colours celebrating mystic Sufi poet Rumi at a cultural centre in central Turkiye’s Konya.

Every year, the ‘Shab-i-Arus’ festival honouring Rumi’s death on December 17, 1273, draws so many people that traditional venues are not large enough to contain the crowds.

Pilgrims, tourists, meditation enthusiasts and the curious flock to this vast Anatolian city, where Rumi — or Mevlana as he is known in Turkiye — spent most of his life after being driven out of modern-day Afghanistan in the 12th century by Mongol invaders.

His writings have gradually spread well beyond central Asia and won acclaim in the West.

“Rumi’s works have been translated into almost every language, and in the United States alone more than 250 books are dedicated to him,” said Nuri Simsekler, a specialist in Persian literature at Konya’s Selcuk University.

“Rumi speaks to all humans, telling us about ourselves,” Simsekler said of Rumi’s enduring popularity seven centuries after his death.

The ‘samaa’ rituals — which honour Rumi’s legacy — are performed by whirling dervishes who don a tall light brown hat, with their arms elegantly spread.

The order was established after Rumi’s death by his son and descendants.

To the sounds of reed flutes and tambourines, the dervish takes off his long black cloak to dance, but keeps his cylindrical felt hat on. The “sikke” represents the tombstone which will one day stand at the head of his grave.

Then the dance begins. Extending his right hand toward the sky and his left towards the ground, the whirling dervish forms a link between the two.

“Rumi is the first person on Earth whose death is not mourned but celebrated,” Simsekler said.

From her office window, Esin Celebi Bayru has a clear view of the turquoise dome that tops the mausoleum of her illustrious ancestor.

Large crowds from Turkiye and Iran, where the poet is also a national icon, but also Britain and Singapore are expected to celebrate Rumi’s 750th anniversary at his tomb.

Such a major anniversary of his death was “an opportunity to make him even better known,” said Celebi Bayru, a 22nd generation descendant of the Sufi poet.

Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2023