Thousands flock to Konya to mark anniversary of Rumi's death

Some 50,000 people this year attended festivities as part of seb-i Arus commemorations, marking the 737th anniversary of the death of Mevlana Rumi, a Sufi saint and founder of the Mevlevi order of Sufi dervishes. Konya Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Mustafa Cipan said thousands of tourists visited the city for the festivities on Dec. 7-17. Whirling dervish ceremonies were watched by 50,000 people at the Mevlana Cultural Center , he said, adding that they worked hard to welcome the thousands of guests who arrived from other Turkish provinces and abroad. "Everybody was pleased with the program," he said. "This year, both the quality of the events and the number of guests increased." Mevlana Rumi is world famous for his "Mesnevi" (The Couplets), written originally in Persian.