It was in Konya that Mowlana Jalaloddin Rumi got established (1207-1273), where he taught the highest form of spirituality and created his great poetic work in Persian. In his mausoleum, one of the most Beautiful place of its kind in the Moslem world, there governs an atmosphere of peace and devotion which attracts pilgrims and visitors of all horizons. Since ten years ago, they have increasingly become numerous, in particular in December when the anniversary of his disappearance is commemorated.
On this occasion, since 1960s, the great liturgy of the Mowlaviyye dervishes (known under the name of "whirling dervishes") is held, comprising these famous whirling dances with the sound of a celestial music in the purest Ottoman tradition. This ceremony, sama' or ayin-i sharif, which is rich in symbols, represents, in an ideal manner, the initiatory progress of the dervishes as well as the mystical dance which Mowlana practiced spontaneously when he was seized by an emotion or was struck by a spiritual illumination. Thus the name of the Master is inseparable from the poetic works that he left (Masnavi and Divan-e Shams) and of the music and the dance which carried his inspiration. ...
