Ruminating with Rumi
Spiritual and sensual, ascetic and ecstatic, Rumi’s poetry has provided me an island of tranquility since my college years. Two of his quatrains, in particular, had a profound influence on my development as a young adult:
For years, copying other...
Going Deep with the Dervishes
Rumi was born in Afghanistan, spent time in Persia (Iran), then settled in Konya, Turkey when his father was invited there to be a scholar. Rumi became an Islamic scholar himself teaching peace, love, and tolerance. He built quite a following of...
My Favorite Travel Agent in Turkey
You don’t have to come to Konya in the middle of December to see a Whirling Dervish ceremony as they have Saturday evening presentations year-round at the Mevlana Cultural Center (Rumi is also known as Mevlana, “our master”). I was able to get a...
Divine Intoxication: : Whirling Over Wine
Konya is a “dry” town and Turkey’s most religious city. While back in Rumi’s day (and in his poetry), one could be a devout Muslim and still drink alcohol, that’s not the case in many parts of the Islamic world today (although most Konya hotels do...
How I Learned to Whirl Like a Dervish
As much as I enjoyed the spectacle and Rumi-obsessed Whirling Dervish festival in Konya, going to a Dervish ceremony in a yellow-colored caravansary, Saruhan (www.Sarihan1249.com -- that's not a typo) in the desert just 15 minutes from my...
