Mevlana'la Konya'da bir Haftasonu

As I prepare for final exams tomorrow and Friday, end of program festivities, and a return to Boston on Sunday, I figured I should take a minute to recap our final weekend trip of the summer. This time we found ourselves in Konya, best known as the capital of the Anatolian Seljuk sultanate and the final resting place of its most famous 13th century inhabitant, Mevlana Jelaleddin Rumi, founder of the Mevlevi order of Sufi dervishes.

Though it was hard to top last weekend's trip to Cappadocia, for me at least a heavily Islamic weekend of mosques, medreses and tombs was just the thing I wanted. Since we left on saturday morning this time instead of the evening before the whole trip seemed a bit shorter and more manageable. We spent about half the day on saturday on the bus and arrived just in time for a short lunch before visiting the Mevlana museum. Once a tekke (lodge) for the Mevlevi order of sufis (better known to most of the world as the whirling dervishes for reasons that will be explained later) and the site of the tomb of its founder, Rumi, the complex was transformed into a museum complex after the founding of the Turkish Republic and the subsequent banning of the sufi orders. Though architectually it retains the form of its old identity, the interior is now filled with various possessions of its inhabitants and a collection of beautifully illuminated Qurans and works written by Rumi. Having grown accustomed to the rather sedate tombs of the Ottoman sultans in Istanbul, I really wasn't prepared for how chaotic and crowded the tomb complex would be in Konya. Both tourists and people who obviously treated this as a religious experience filled the small room and crowded around the sarcophogus marking the burial place of the site's namesake. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised given how widely known Rumi is to both Muslims and others who would be hard-pressed to name his religious affiliation or the Islamic content of his thought. His is one of those names that is as well known in Barnes & Noble as it is in your typical religious studies department and one of the very few that maintains a positive connotation in both. I'm personally less familiar with his life and works, but still appreciated the chance to visit the tomb complex and learn a bit more about his life. The interior of the tomb was gorgeous and unlike many of the other complexes I have seen, but unfortunately pictures were forbidden and I can't show any evidence of this. The atmosphere was negatively affected by the heavy crowds (especially the elderly Turkish gentleman nudging me in the back and telling me to hurry up) but it was still a great experience.

Since we arrived in the city so late, this was the only item on the itinerary for the day and once we finished our tour we headed back to the bus to settle in at the hotel. As we arrived, though, we were treated to some unexpected news that we would have the opportunity to see a demonstration of the Sema later that night, which is the ceremony practiced by the Mevlevi order that has garnered them the popular name of whirling dervishes. In reality, this is the Mevlevi manifestation of the Sufi practice of performing repetitive movements, in this case turning their bodies rythmically in a circle, while chanting the dhikr, which is a repetition of some religiously themed word or phrase. The idea behind this is that through intense concentration on these repetitive utterings and movements the dervish will enter a state of mind that allows them to more intensely experience the presence of God (somewhat similar to the idea behind meditation). In the case of the Mevlevis this is done by repeatedly turning in a circle on the ball of the foot with one hand upturned to receive the divine presence, another downturned to allow it to flow out again, and the head rolled back in a manner that suggests how deeply they are concentrating. However, as the sufi orders were officially outlawed many decades ago and this particular performance was intended for an audience rather than as a religious experience for its participants, in this case what we saw was more form than substance (though I can't vouch for the intent of the men performing the sema and would have loved to talk to them about it, had the chance arisen). Irregardless, the experience was great and the performance was one that I have been wanting to attend for a long time. Of course, in a classic tourist party foul, I forgot to bring my camera with me. Thankfully, my friend Jordan was willing to share her pictures and credit for the one here should go to her.

After the performance we of course went back to the hotel and went straight to bed to prepare for the next day of activities (give or take a few drinks, some card games and a mix of Turkish and American pop music). The second day featured more activities than the previous one, but was still rather sedate in comparison to our hiking and mountain climbing activities the weekend before. We started the day at a former medrese (akin to an Islamic college, but whose instruction was not solely religious in nature) which featured some amazing ceramic works and has now been turned into a museum showcasing Seljuk and Ottoman ceramics. [Though I hadn't planned on it, the ceramics are so interesting for me after my paper on them last Spring that I will include another set of pictures with some of the best examples.] The exhibits have some interesting examples of tiles taken from local Selcuk sites and a number of plates, pitchers and other examples from Selcuk and Ottoman ceramic works. The most interesting thing for me, however, was the tile work in the building itself, which featured some great calligraphy over the archways and a number of turquoise triangular panels in the corners. The most interesting thing about the panels is that, while they look at first like they are filled with repetitive geometric patterns, it turns out they feature the names of Muhammed, the first four caliphs, Jesus, Moses and other religious figures done repetitively in a decorative script.

After the medrese we continued on to the mosque of Sultan Keykubad I, one of the most prominent Selcuk sultans under whose reign mosques were built everywhere from Antalya to Beypazari (at least from those I have seen) and who was responsible for welcoming Rumi and his father to Konya after they fled the Khwarizm sultanate to the east. The mosque itself was beautiful, featuring some great ceramic tile work around the mihrab area, and was a good example of some of the more modest mosque styles that predated the era of monumental Ottoman mosques. Another bonus was the mausoleum in the courtyard that featured the tombs of eight Selcuk sultans, including Sultan Keykubad I himself! The tomb itself wasn't open, but I was able to see inside through a window and the textile covered sarcophogi typical of the Ottoman tombs were replaced in some cases by sarcophogi covered in beautiful blue and white ceramic tile work.

Our final stop of the day was another medrese, the Ince Minareli Medrese (Madrasa of the Thin Minaret), which is also now a museum featuring stone and wooden pieces from the Selcuk era. Most interesting about this place, though, was the incredibly ornate stone work on its facade, and its half minaret. Apparently, while the building once featured a full minaret typical of the Selcuk style, at one point it was hit by lightning, exploded, and now stands about half finished! The stone ornamentation on the facade is some of the most ornate I have seen and has a couple bands running down the middle and sides that on closer inspection feature long excerpts of Arabic calligraphy winding through the geometric elements.

Before heading back to Ankara we stopped off for lunch at a place that deserves some mention. Though I can't remember the name of the place, they treated us to one of my new favorite lunches of lahmacun, or toasted flat bread with diced peppers, tomatoes, etc. However, while these are normally personal sized, in this case the bread was brought to each table party-sub style, with four to five foot long lahmacuns stacked on wooden platters placed in the middle of each table. It was just enough to put the entire group into a collective food coma the second we all got back on the bus and made for a very quiet ride back to Ankara.

Now we are finishing out the final week, which means I may only have one or two posts left in me and those may have to wait until I'm settled back into Boston and have spent a couple days relaxing with Amanda. I will try to bring the blog to some kind of conclusion this year, as oppposed to my year-long hiccup in posting last time. As this may be the last summer I spend in Turkey for a little while, I feel like it deserves some kind of wrap-up before I stop signing in for a while. More to come!