Konya - Gün 1

Seeing as I went to sleep at 4am, I thought it a good idea to wake up at 7:30am.
...or else I would've missed the bus to Konya.


Eating a la Turca
I slept most of the way there. It was only four hours, and we arrived in town around 1pm. We had lunch a la Turca (i.e. on the floor, with a short table). Only, they really squeezed us in there. There was hardly any room to put your legs. As typical of the Study Abroad Office's trips, we were fed mixed pide (Turkish pizza) and ayran (yogurt water). It was interesting to have our guide talk to us like we had just arrived in Turkey the day before. After 3 months we know a pinch about Turkish food.


The Turquoise-tiled dome of the Mevlana Museum
Background on the Mevlevi and Rumi: Celaleddin Rumi was a great Muslim philosopher and poet from the Seljuk period (early 1200s). His followers, often known as the whirling dervishes or Mevlevi perform a ceremony called the sema in which they spin to communicate with God. The right arm is raised with the palm upward, to gather the blessings of God, while the left palm is downward to spread the word to Earth. Rumi's (or Mevlana (Our Guide)) sarcophagus as well as those of his son and many other notable dervishes are located in the Mevlana Museum, which is really part mosque, part shrine. It houses many old prayer rugs, some of Rumi's clothing, old Qur'ans, as well as some of the beard of the prophet Mohammad.

Our tour guide was trying to explain to us that due to Rumi's close relationship with another Sufi, Semsi Tebrizi, that some people say Rumi is gay. And then he went on to say that someone told him the Caesar "was a gay." Who cares?! This was 700 years ago! The point is supposed to be Rumi's teachings, not which gender Rumi preferred. I hate when people focus on the details and miss the overall purpose.


Above, you see Hannes taking random photos in the dergah (courtyard of the Mevlana Museum). As Jan says, "We're in the digital age. We must take at least two photos of everything."


Entrance to the Mevlana Museum and Mosque


Mevlana Museum


Mothers taking a rest while their little girls are occupied
I like the feel of courtyards in front of mosques. They're typically lined with matching, smooth stone with a few grassy areas here and there. People are calm, as most are either entering or leaving the mosque and everything is peaceful.


A car decorated for a wedding
This wasn't the first car I've seen in Turkey decorated for a wedding. It seems to be what you do when you're getting married- take your car to the florist, and have it decorated with toile. We spotted it on our way to the Karatay Museum and Alaadin Mosque.

The Karatay Museum houses some of the only tiles with faces on them. It is against the religion of Islam to create idols, so it's suspected these tiles were imported from Central Asia.

Alaadin mosque dates from Seljuk times and it is a simple mosque. I think it's Seljuk architecture gives it a different feel from all the Ottoman mosques I've seen. Low ceilings, thin and long, a small dome, and lots of flying buttresses.


A famous Sufi singer
After walking around Konya on our own, we met at the bus to head over to the Cultural Centre. December 7-17th is the celebration of Rumi's "Wedding night with The One", and so we went to see the sema ritual. The first hour of time was occupied by a famous Sufi singer, and then the ceremony began.


Sema ceremony
The sema is made of multiple parts with special meanings, but the overall theme is the maturation of the person. There is background music, and someone singing from their memorized version of the Qur'an.

I'm told that these men all have day jobs. It's interesting that they have chosen Mevlani as their religious expression, and then have let it been pumped out in this somewhat commercialized form. Although, if the spreading of knowledge/love is all you desire, then I suppose it does the job.

I am sort of confused by something, though. Rumi wrote a poem about how you cannot be adult (i.e. mature) until you have given up desire. But if this is so, I'm not quite sure how Rumi's son, Sultan Veled, came into being. Maybe Rumi himself wasn't mature? I don't know.


Whirling Dervish
It was interesting to see the different postures of the men- how they slanted their heads, held their arms, or how fast they moved.

The Arabic/Qur'an singing, swishing of white skirts, and spinning slippers was beautiful.


Taking a rest between whirlings
The dervishes whirled for long periods of time, only taking three breaks (signalled by the singer/music). In between, you could see the men wiping the sweat off their faces, rubbing their arms, or as you see here, adjusting their hats.





After the ceremony ended (at 11pm) we headed home and arrived in Ankara at 2:30am. I spent the bus ride discussing number systems and windows managers with Hannes. I apparently cannot tell military time, nor do simple subtraction.