TURKEY'S MAGICAL HIDEAWAYS
May 22 - June 7, 2009
Page 11
Driving from Cappadocia Area to Fethiye on the Mediterranean Sea
On May 29, we started our drive to the Mediterranean Sea
in southwestern Turkey with several stops and overnight stays along the way.
Mevlana Museum in Konya - is the mausoleum of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi,
a Sufi Islam mystic also known as Mevlâna or Rumi. This mosque and mausoleum was
also the dervish lodge of the Mevlevi order, better known as the whirling dervishes.
Rumi's son took Rumi's writings and started the Dervish sect of Islam.
Rumi and many of his teachers and family are buried in the mosque.
After the death of Rumî in 1273, the Mevlevi order spread throughout the Seljuk and Ottoman Turk empires.
Though all dervish orders were closed shortly after the foundation of the Turkish Republic, the Mevlevi were
soon allowed to re-form as a "cultural organization," perhaps because they were not overtly political and reactionary
as were some other orders. Their spellbinding worship service, the Mevlevi sema, has dervishes in long white
white dresses whirling ecstatically for a quarter hour at a time to the drone of ancient Islamic hymns. The sema
is derived from Rumî's habit of occasionally whirling in ecstatic joy in the streets of Konya, capital of a
Seljuk Turkish Sultanate, and his home for the greater part of his life. It is perhaps the most familiar aspect
of Sufism (Islamic mysticism). The ceremony has seven parts symbolizing the whirling dervish's love of God,
humankind and all creation. Some of our tour group, including me, went to a whirling dervish ceremony in the
Cappadocia area, but we were not allowed to take pictures of this religious ceremony.
The Mevlâna Museum is a place of pilgrimage for Muslims because Rumî is a saint.
Farmland in the countryside south of Konya
The Esrefoglu Süleyman Bey mosque was built in 1299. It is one of the few remaining wooden mosques
that dates from the Seljuk Turk period. It is right in the center of the Beysehir district.
The mihrab (indicating the direction of Mecca) is under a dome of stone and brick
and richly decorated with turquoise and black tiles.
The interior of this mosque is all wood. The huge pillars were made of Lebanese cedar.
The roof was built with an opening to allow water and snow to collect in the pit in the floor
and keep the humidity at a wood-favoring level. Imagine worshiping in here as the snow gently falls in.
We stayed overnight at the home of the extended family of Suleyman Aydin, a farming and fishing
family. Our gracious hosts served us dinner and breakfast the following morning. They couldn't
speak English, and we couldn't speak Turkish, so hand and facial signals and our Turkish guide
served for interpretation. Here the woman of the household holds her grandson. The family
consisted of a grandmother, grandfather, mother, father (Suleyman), 2 adult sons, 2 daughters-in-law,
a 5 year old granddaughter and 9 month old grandson. I slept on the floor on a comfortable futon-like floor mat,
just like my hosts sleep.
The extended family now has 3 homes. This is the second home that was built.
A third home is being completed now. Note the laundry hanging out to dry and shoes left outside.
Poppy field with Toros Mountains in the background - Turkey shifted in 1974 from an out-of-control
supplier of criminal narcotics into a licensed system of legal farming. It's still growing opium poppies
and selling the product – but not to the black market. It earns $60 million a year exporting the raw materials
that are turned into medical morphine and codeine. Could the Afghanistan poppy problem
(that helps finance Al Qaeda) start being solved using the Turkish model?
Head of the household, Suleyman, with his wife, one of his daughters-in-law,
and granddaughter.
Just before we left their home, the extended family gathered so we could take their picture. Missing are
the grandmother and grandfather as well as the 9 month old, who was still sleeping.
Link to next page of Drive to Fethiye - Page 12
Link to first page of Cappadocia - Page 6
Link to Page One of Turkey- Istanbul
Pat's Home Page
