Mevlana Rumi lures thousands to mystic music festival in Konya

Thousands of people from around the world are converging in Konya, a city layered with centuries of mysticism, to participate in the annual celebration of the Mevlevi Order’s musical traditions.

Now in its 21st year, the International Mystic Music Festival has grown into more than just an event — it stands as a living testament to Rumi’s philosophy—a reminder that music, like love, knows no borders.

At the festival’s opening, Konya’s mayor, Ugur İbrahim Altay, emphasised its significance.

“The International Konya Mystic Music Festival has solidified Konya’s place as a cultural epicentre—not just in Türkiye, but globally,” he tells TRT World.

His remarks reflected the city’s evolving role as a custodian of Rumi’s teachings on tolerance, love, and peace—now shared through the universal language of music.

“Music is a window that opens towards friends. That’s why the ears of friends and lovers are always at that window,” wrote the mystic poet Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi.

Those words still resonate today, especially in the streets of Konya. Each year, global artists and pilgrims gather in the heart of Anatolia, a city whose history and stones are infused with Rumi’s spiritual legacy.

This year’s festival also marks the 817th anniversary of Rumi’s birth. In many ways, it is an extension of his call to the world, as echoed in his famous poem: “Come, come, whoever you are.”

Altay highlighted that the festival “brings together hearts from all over the world.”

For many residents, including Ahmet Angi, the festival holds deep personal meaning and serves as a respite from the harshness of modern life. “In a world filled with wars, violence, and genocide this festival offers us a moment of beauty, a breath of fresh air,” he said.

A faithful attendee since the festival’s founding in 2004, Angi has witnessed it grow into a truly international affair. “The language of music is universal,” he said. “It enriches our souls in a way that nothing else can.”

Mediums and messengers

This year, 750 artists from 11 countries are gathering in Konya, including renowned musicians from Japan, Congo, Iran, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Jordan, Morocco, Spain, Kosovo, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Throughout the week, performances will range from the ethereal sounds of the Al-Firdaous Ensemble from Granada to the deep Sufi traditions of Iran’s Shahram Nazeri. Balkan musicians like Mesut Kurtis and Hafiz Burhan Saban will offer sacred renditions of Islamic devotion, while onlookers gather at the Selcuklu Congress Centre and Mevlana Square, Konya’s spiritual nexus. Here, ancient melodies meet the open air, and each note seems to rise toward the heavens.

Wednesday’s highlight is the Istanbul Meydan Meskleri Toplulugu, a group known for their immersive “Devran Kıyam Kuud” performance, steeped in the tradition of the whirling dervishes.

Thursday will bring the evocative voice of Pakistan’s Sanam Marvi, while Friday offers an especially poignant programme. In the afternoon, Jordan’s Hind Hamed will take the stage, and later, the Swedish-Lebanese singer Maher Zain will hold a “Free Gaza Concert,” turning Mevlana Square into a space of both solidarity and hope.

Morocco’s Kadiri Butsishi Sufi Music Group will fill Saturday with the sounds of North Africa’s rich spiritual heritage, and Sunday will see Bosnia’s Damir Imamovic weave his stories of exile and longing in “Singer of Tales.”

The festival will draw to a close on Monday (September 30) with a performance by Shahram Nazeri, whose music channels the Persian tradition of love poetry and mystical yearning.

“This festival is not just about music,” Altay reminds us. “It’s about bringing people together—people of different faiths, backgrounds, and traditions—through the shared experience of mystical sound.”

But the festival’s significance reaches even further.

Exhibitions accompanying the musical performances add layers of depth to the event. Among them is Naji EA-Ali’s Handala Exhibition, which brings attention to the struggles of Palestine. The Miniature Exhibition on Music in the Capital Konya During the Age of Mevlana is a visual exploration of Rumi’s poetry as it relates to music.

For the first time, the festival also includes a special children’s music event, inviting the youngest generation to join this ongoing conversation between the past and the present, between the soul and sound.

Konya’s Mystic Music Festival, held in collaboration with Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, has, as Mayor Altay aptly noted, become one of the three most influential festivals of its kind in the world.

Over 60 countries have been represented since the festival’s inception, with each year adding new voices, new melodies, and new stories to the ever-growing tapestry of mystical music.

Music, after all, offers us a window, as Mevlana once said, a window that opens toward friends. As the final note of this year’s festival lingers in the air, we are reminded, once again, to come—no matter who we are or where we’ve been.

“Come, yet again, come.”