Renowned Sufi Mevlana commemorated on 733rd anniversary of his passing.

The closing ceremony of the events held to commemorate the 733rd anniversary of the passing of Mevlana Jalaladdin Rumi was held on Sunday in central Turkish city of Konya, where he spent most of his life and produced his works.

The ceremony was held at Mevlana Culture Centre in the presence of a crowded audience. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife, main opposition leader Deniz Baykal, Culture and Tourism Minister Atilla Koc attended the event. Other cabinet ministers, MPs and foreign ambassadors in Turkey were also present in the ceremonies.

A Sufi music concert was performed in the program broadcast live in dozens of TV channels and the ceremony ended with a "Sema" performance of the Semazens, or whirling dervishes. The participants were given a set of books and CDs about Mevlana and Konya and Mevlana candies (sweets genuine to the region) by the Konya Culture and Tourism Directorate.

The police searched the hall with sniffer dogs about an hour prior to the ceremony. Mevlana, who is also known as Rumi, was a philosopher and mystic of Islam, but not a Muslim of the orthodox type. His doctrine advocates tolerance, positive reasoning, goodness, charity and awareness through love. Looking with the same eye on Muslim, Jew and Christian alike, his peaceful and tolerant teaching has appealed to men of all sects and creeds.

Mevlana was born on 30 September 1207 in Balkh, in present day Afghanistan and died on December 17, 1273 in Konya. He was laid to rest beside his father and over his remains a splendid shrine was erected. The 13th century building with its mosque, dance hall, dervish living quarters, school and tombs of some leaders of the Mevlevi Order continues to this day to draw pilgrims from all parts of the Muslim and non-Muslim world.

The "dance" of the whirling dervishes is called Sema and it represents a mystical journey of man's spiritual ascent through mind and love to "perfect."