Mevlana Commemoration In The World

Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry organized a series of activities in Chicago, and New York on June 14 and 26 respectively. Istanbul Historical Music Ensemble performed sema, the dance of whirling dervishes, and gave concerts in"Town Hall" in Chicago and in the United Nations building in New York.

The Whirling Dervishes performed their famous practice of"dhikr" at the Cancelleria Palace in front of 300 guests including cardinals, bishops and the other high-level officials of Vatican. Meanwhile, the Turkish Ministry of Culture & Tourism gave as a gift six-volume Italian translation of Mevlana's major work Masnavi-ye Manavi and baklava, a traditional Turkish pastry, to the Pope and the other high-level officials of Vatican.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared 2007 as the year of Mevlana to mark the 800th anniversary of his birth.

The Mevlevi Order was founded by the followers of Jalal ad-Din Rumi in 1273 in the central Turkish city of Konya. They are also known as the Whirling Dervishes due to their famous practice of whirling.