Yunus Emre Institute continues its activities commemorating Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, a figure whose personality transcends time and space and guides all humanity with his teachings.

Amsterdam Yunus Emre Institute organized a commemoration ceremony for the 750^th anniversary of the passing of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi on May 13, 2023.

The event was attended by Turkish Ambassador to the Hague Selçuk Ünal, Consul General of the Republic of Türkiye in Amsterdam Mahmut Burak Ersoy, Amsterdam Yunus Emre Institute Coordinator Adil Akaltun, Religious Affairs Counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Türkiye in the Hague Haluk Songur, Education Counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Türkiye in the Hague Miyase Koyuncu Kaya, Vice President of the International Mevlana Foundation and Culture and Promotion Counselor Pınar Bilgen Ermiş and Turkish Airlines Amsterdam Manager Şerafettin Ekmiş, Mevlana's 22^nd generation granddaughter Esin Çelebi Bayru, and many Turkish and Dutch guests.

MEVLANA ATTRACTS INTEREST ALL OVER THE WORLD WITH HIS TEACHINGS

In his speech, Turkish Ambassador to the Hague Selçuk Ünal stated that explaining a unique value like Mevlana is very challenging and emphasized the universality of the message Rumi sent to all humanity from Anatolia.

Quoting the first couplets of "Masnavi" in his speech, Ünal thanked the theologist and writer Abdulvahid van Bommel, who translated Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi's work, which attracted interest all over the world with its teachings, into Dutch.

TULIP PERIOD PAINTER VANMOUR'S SUFI PAINTINGS

Eveline Sint Nicolaas, who works as a curator in the history department of the Rijks Museum in the Netherlands, made a presentation on the paintings of painter Jean Baptiste Vanmour under the patronage of Cornelis Calkoen, who served as the Dutch Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during the Tulip Period.

Stating that 65 of Vanmour's paintings depicting the Tulip Period are exhibited in the Rijks Museum, Nicolaas added that Vanmour conveyed the spiritual world of the day with his painting depicting Sufis in a state of revolution and his dervish portrait works.

"Vanmour offers us portraits not only of the world of diplomacy and bureaucracy, but also of the social and cultural life of the Tulip Period Ottoman Empire," Nicolaas noted.

MAWLANA IN THE WORDS OF HIS GRANDDAUGHTER

Bayru stated that the kind of person Mevlana was can be learned through an open, broad and inclusive reading and said: "Mevlana always took the words he passed on to us from the Holy Quran and hadiths."

She noted that people of all religions attended Mevlana's funeral and prayed for him by reading their holy books, and emphasized that Mevlana was embraced by members of all religions.

At the end of his speech, Bayru read some of Mevlana's advice and sayings that she thought reflected his spiritual and world views to the participants of the event.

POETRY AND NEY RECITAL

In the event, poems of Mevlana and Yunus Emre were recited in English by poets Paul Mulders and Seren Dalkıran, while ney player Sinan Arat performed for the guests.

Author Van Bommel read some passages from "Masnavi" in Turkish and Dutch to the participants of the event.

At the end of the event, the "sirkencübin" sherbet and halva were served, which Mevlana said healed the sick and quenched thirst and fever. The guests examined the exhibition consisting of copies of Vanmour's paintings at Amsterdam Yunus Emre Institute.