Rumi

📍Aziziye Mh., Mevlana Cd. No:1, 42030 Karatay/Konya, Turkey

“I was born Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi on the 30th of September 1207 in Balkh, now Afghanistan, and spent my adult life in Konya in Anatolia. In 1244 I met Shams-i-Tabrizi, a wandering dervish, and our friendship transformed my life and my poetry entirely. When Shams disappeared — possibly killed by jealous disciples — I searched for him and eventually understood that the beloved is not separate from the lover. The grief became ecstasy. The Masnavi, the Divan-i Shams, the whirling dervish tradition of the Mevlevi Order — these emerged from Konya, from the loss of Shams, from the understanding that love survives the disappearance of the beloved. The Mevlana Museum in Konya, where I am buried, draws millions of visitors every year.”

Sources: Lewis, F. Rumi: Past and Present, East and West (2000), Oneworld; Rumi. The Masnavi (13th century, translated Jawid Mojaddedi 2004)