Whirling dervishes commemorate 746th death anniversary of Mevlana

The city of Konya, located south of the capital Ankara in Turkey's Central Anatolia region, commemorated the 746th death anniversary of Mevlana with a special ritual called Sema -- an act of meditation through dance and music -- that originated among Sufis of the Mevlevi order in the 13th century. Born into a Turkic family in 1207, in what is now Afghanistan, Rumi is one of the most widely read philosophers in the world, with teachings that transcend boundaries of race, color, and religion. In Turkey Rumi is fondly remembered by his followers as Mevlana -- which means scholar.