MADRID - Queen Sophia of Spain watched performance of whirling dervishes in Madrid on the occasion of the 800th birthday anniversary of Mevlana.
Turkish Culture & Tourism Ministry, together with Turkish Embassy in Madrid, organized the performance of whirling dervishes as UNESCO declared 2007 "Mevlana Year".
-MEVLANA-
Jalal ud-Din Muhammed Rumi, who is also known as Mevlana, is a great philosopher and founder of the Mevlevi Order.
Mevlana was born on September 30th, 1207 in Balkh in present day Afghanistan. He died in Konya on December 17th, 1273. He was laid to eternal rest beside his father and over his remains in a splendid shrine was erected in Konya.
Mevlana devoted himself to the pursuit of Sufi mysticism, in which he was justly regarded as the supreme master. He was the spiritual founder of the Mevlevi order of whirling dervishes.
His most important work, composed during the last ten years of his life, is the Mathnawi-i Manawi (Mesnevi). This comprises about thirty thousand couplets in six books, a vast compendium of Sufi lore and doctrine, interspersed with fables and anecdotes. It is especially remarkable for its insight into the laws of physics and psychology.
"Come, come again, whoever you are, come! Heathen, fire worshipper or idolatrous, come! Come even if you broke your penitence a hundred times. Ours is the portal of hope, come as you are," is his famous motto that has been seen as a symbol of tolerance and love for centuries.