Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī commemorated 747th death anniversary on December 7 and December 17 at Seb-i Arus Ceremonies held in Konya, one of the major cities of Turkey.

JAKATA, INDONESIA - Media OutReach - 23 December 2020 - Whenthe news of the pandemic first broke early this year, many plans revolvingtravelling, large weddings and unions for festive celebrations were put on holdfor the greater good. While many countries have yet to open their doors forinternational travelling, Indonesia is one of the few who still allows theirlocals to cross borders internationally (with the strict ruling to follow theproper SOPs), allowing for Indonesians to carry on with their wanderlust dreamsyet witnessing meaningful occasions such as the Seb-i Arus ceremony in Turkey.

Seb-IArus ceremony (An annual ritual In Turkey)

Every year since 1937, Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī isbeing commemorated on his death anniversary at Seb-i Arus (Night of Reunionwith the Divine) commemoration ceremonies in Konya, the birthplace of theMevlevi order in the 13^th century and home to Rumi's tomb. Konya isa city known not only for Mevlâna, but also for its rich culture that blendssignificant historical heritage.

2020 marked the 747^thdeath anniversary of the world-renowned Sufi mystic, poet, and scholar Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī knownto the world as Rumi. This year on December 7 and December 17, with the supportof the T.R. Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Turkish Tourism Promotionand Development Agency, Sema ceremonies as part of Seb-i Arus ceremonies wereheld at Rumi Cultural Center, in Konya. Due to the pandemic and limitedparticipation apart from the special guests and invitees of the ministry, theceremonies were livestreamed on GoTurkey's Twitter and Facebook accounts andreal time stories will be shared from GoTurkey's Instagram account (www.goturkey.com).

With the participation of Speaker ofthe Turkish Grand National Assembly, Prof. Dr. Mustafa Şentop and Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet NuriErsoy tothe celebrations, Vice President of International Mevlâna (Rūmī) Foundation, Esin Çelebi Bayru (who is also Rumi's 22^ndgeneration granddaughter and sociologist) and writer and Rumi expert, AliBektaş got together with journalists from all around the world.

According to Indonesian travel-enthusiastand social media personality, Wira Nurmansyah, the teachings of Mevlâna aboutlove is widely known in Indonesia and has a great effect over locals such ashimself.

"The witnessing of the ritual is deeplytouching to me. Not only that, the spiritual atmosphere of Konya has a positiveinfluence for a Muslim such as myself, apart from the many other Muslimattractions located in Turkey," said Wira, who added that this ceremony lefthim a great impression on his first trip to Turkey on early December 2020.

Another of Indonesia's social mediapersonality, Ashari Yudha had also attended the ceremony with Wira on thistrip, which they were personally invited as guests hosted by TurkishEmbassy Tourism Office and Tourism Tourism Promotion and DevelopmentAgency for this special occasion.

Seb-i Arus ceremonies, an annualritual in Turkey

Seb-i Arus ceremonies, which are heldevery year on December 17, means 'wedding night' in Turkish. The wedding nightis known in the Mevlevi order as the night Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī died. Since Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī consideredhis death not as an end but as a reunion with his beloved God, his deathanniversary is called the 'Wedding Night' also referred as 'The Night of Reunion'. Rumi interpretsdeath as a return to one's origin, a "return to Allah" due to the fact that itssource is a divine ore; according to him death is not the disappearance of thebody, but the flight towards Allah. Rumi expresses his philosophy about deathwith these words: "Everyone refers to it as departing, I, however, refer toit as a reunion."

For further information about Seb-iArus please visit https://sebiarus.gov.tr/

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