Heroes from Konya

Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi , the great Turkish philosopher and poet, was born in 1207 in Afghanistan. His family moved to Konya in 1228 at the invitation of the Seljuk Sultan. The people regarded him as the sole intellectual and spiritual heir, and a source of inspiration. In the following years, as a scholar and theologian, he became even more popular. Mevlana gives extraordinary value to man' s free will and exalts the human being to virtually the level of a sacred being. So he gives special importance to a person's knowing him or herself. With no discrimination based on differences of birth or later acquired differences, he values all humanity.

With the torch of broad tolerance, joy and hope, which he represented, Mevlana held forth a light not only in his own time but for all ages to come. In every age his ideas are fresh, new and in the vanguard. He is able to see sins and faults with the kind forgiveness of God.

Mevlana called humans to unity, to give up themselves in the Unity of God. Mevlana is a great person who was against any institution or way of thought which held women as inferior or was not based on human sensitivity.

"Our mother is love! Our father is love!

"We are born from love! We are love!"

"All loves constitute a bridge leading to the divine love."

"To love human beings means to love GOD."

Come, come whatever you are,
it doesn't matter Whether you are an
infidel, an idolater or a fire-worshiper,
Come, our convent is not a place of despair.

Come, even if you violated your swear A hundred times,
come again.

In generosity and helping other be like a river

In compassion and grace be like a sun

In concealing other's faults be like night

In anger and fury be like dead

In modesty and humility be like earth

In tolerance be like a sea

Either exist as you are or be as you look

Nasrettin Hodja

(This is the story about wit and wisdom of a man who has been dead for hundreds of years. But he is also the most important Turkish hero, the delightful and inimitable personification of Turkish humor.

According to most reliable sources, he was born in 1208 in Turkey. On his tomb­stone, the date of his death is given as 1284.

After the Hodja got the recipe for liver from his friend, he bought again some liver and because he liked it very much, he wanted to eat it often.
But everytime when he brought livers he couldn't eat it, because his wife said that the cat took the liver and fled away.
One day the Hodja became angry and said:
“Woman, I brought liver! Where is it?”
“Oh”, said his wife. “The silly cat took it and fled away.”

At the same time the cat was in the room. The Hodja caught it, brought a steelyard and weighted the cat. Then he said:
“That is exactly two kilos. And the liver which I brought was also two kilos. Now tell me: If that is the liver where is my cat, if that is the cat, then I want my liver.”

RIGHT RIDING

When the Hodja was going out with his students, he sat on the donkey facing the tail. They asked him why and he explained:

“As a teacher I must be in front of you. But if I face the front, I cannot see what you are doing behind me. Therefore, if I sit on the donkey this way, I can see you all quite easily.”