The resting place of Maulana Jalal al-Din Rumi, one of the most respected historical figures in the world, in Kunia, present-day Turkey, has become a major tourist and mystical pilgrimage route for centuries.
This city is located 260 kilometers from Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Some are drawn here by blood ties with Maulana, but many are attracted by his words, which he himself said: “Sympathy is better than speaking the same language.” Every year, up to 2 million people visit the shrine of Mawlana Jalaluddin Balkhi and his companions in the city of Kunia.
Ahmadjavid Zia, a citizen of Afghanistan, along with his family, visited Maulana’s tomb. He says that he is one of the fans of the works of this Tajik-Persian thinker, and his love for Maulana’s poems brought him to this place.
“Both from the point of view of Sufism and from the point of view of his poems, people from all over the world come here to visit him. Including people from Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Iran. It is very interesting that Japanese people also come here. Mawlana’s ideology, his poems, especially “Masnavi” is a respected book. In the language of Maulana himself, there are the so-called Holy Qur’an. From this point of view, everyone likes him,” said our interlocutor.
Like Ahmadjavid Zia, every day thousands of other people from Turkey come to visit Maulana’s mausoleum with the hope of fulfilling their dreams.
Maulana’s shrine in Kunia is spread over an area of 18,000 square meters. It was built in 1274 by the efforts of one of his students, Hisomuddin Chalabi. The construction of this building has been going on for almost 700 years under the Ottoman sultans. In 1927, by a special decision of the Turkish government, Maulana’s shrine was turned into a museum.
Fateh – a resident of Kunia considers Mawlana a genius of his time. He says: “Mavlano’s master is Shamsi Tabrezi, who is buried 300-400 meters below Mavlano’s tomb. According to legends, Mawlana’s teacher is Shamsi Tabrezi, with whom Mawlana reached this level. Here is Maulana’s Cellar, Maulana’s clothes, his relics are preserved. One of the greatest works of Maulana is “Masnavi Manavi”. We studied it a lot in school. Maulana came from Khurasan, he is not a Turk.”
Kunia has a population of 1.3 million and is the fourth largest city in Turkey after Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Along with visiting the mausoleum of Maulana and his companions, his books and some of his clothes and belongings, including their dervish hats, are also displayed in separate rooms. The Turks themselves call Jalaluddin Balkhi as Maulana and have great respect for him.
Ikra Ramazan is a student and came to Kunia with his friends to visit the shrine. In an interview with Radio Ozodi, he said: “I like this place very much, it is beautiful and a luxurious place. I read about Maulana in school and we always discussed about Maulana’s writings. I know that Maulana is considered one of the greatest geniuses. Every person should study Maulana. One of Maulana’s greatest works is “Masnavi Manavi”, which is written about friendship between people. Regarding the place of birth of Maulana, Afghanistan is mentioned on the Internet.
However, his fans say that with the passage of centuries, Maulana and his works have long gone beyond the limits of one nation and one country and have become an invaluable transnational heritage and belong to all mankind. In particular, it is famous in the United States under the pseudonym Rumi, and it is among the top three best-selling books in America. After the Istanbul Artillery, Maulana’s mausoleum ranks second among Turkish museums in terms of tourists’ interest. Lovers of Maulana’s poetry and followers of Sufis even affectionately call the tomb of him and his companions in Kunia “Kaabat-ul-Ushshaq”, i.e. “The Kaaba of Lovers”.
Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi was born in 1207 in Balkh province. After the occupation of Balkh, he first moved to Samarkand, and from there to Iran and Iraq, and then to Syria. According to other information, he was born in the Vahshi Valley of Tajikistan. Maulana became great during these travels and finally settled in Kunia. The rest of Maulana’s life was spent in Kunia, and in 1273, he was reunited with his beloved, that is, God, whose every line is about him.
Source : Радио Озоди