20th International Konya Mystic Music Festival Begins

The seventh stop of the Turkey Cultural Road Festivals, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, "International Konya Mystic Music Festival," will start on September 23rd.

The 20th International Konya Mystic Music Festival will start on September 23 with the Fotomarathon event organized by the FOTON Association. As a special opening event, there will be a concert by the Halveti-Cerrahi Devranı Turkish Mystical Music and Folklore Research and Preservation Foundation, directed by Ahmet Özhan.

On the same day, 250 whirling dervishes from Turkey and abroad will perform a show. On September 24, there will be a concert by the Zakiran Nevbe Ensemble titled "Bektaşi Nefesleri."

At the festival on September 25th, ceremonies such as Sema, Semah, and Devran, which were directed by Yüce Gümüş, will be presented to the audience by the Tasavvuf, İrfan, and Meydan Meşkleri Ensemble.

The same evening, the Istanbul State Modern Folk Music Ensemble will also give a concert. In this concert, which will feature Sevingül Bahadır, Enver Merallı, and Jülide Karan as soloists, hymns that express the mystical experiences of Sufism through the language of music will be brought together with folk songs from various regions of Anatolia.

As part of the program, on September 26th, there will be a concert featuring North African Sufi Music by a team from Algeria. On September 27th, the United Arab Emirates' Bedouin Music will take the stage, followed by a performance by the Şanlıurfa State Turkish Folk Music and Sıra Gecesi Ensemble. Then, on September 28th, the unique art collective Yesefi Group from Kazakhstan will present their performance.

On the final day of the festival, September 30th, the Istanbul State Turkish Music Research and Application Ensemble will present a repertoire of religious forms, including *naat, *ilahi, and *nefes, featuring compositions based on the words of Hz. Mevlana and mystical songs dedicated to him.

The festival will conclude with a poetic touch as actor, writer, and director Yılmaz Erdoğan performs a show featuring his own poems as well as poetry from Mevlana.

*Naat: A poetic eulogy to the Prophet Muhammad

*İlahi: A religious song of praise

*Nefes: A mystical song or chant