The Sarcophagus of Mevlana Konya – Chapter 3

The Sarcophagus of Mevlana Konya – Chapter 3,

What bucket was ever lowered into a well that did not come out full? Why should you weep when Joseph falls into the well.
If you closed your mouth on this side at death, open it on the other. Because you are far from the noise and bustle, you are in a spaceless World.
This is one of the ones written by Mevlana who considered death to be rebirth, and the day of his death to be the day he was united with God.
This high sarcophagus is a true masterpiece. No wooden work of art from the Seljuk period can parallel it. It is like a book with its Cufic, Sulus and Nesih inscriptions.
The sarcophagus covered Mevlana’s grave for many years until in the sixteenth century Sultan Suleyman the Law Giver had a marble 3W4* sarcophagus made to cover the grave of Mevlana and that of his son Sultan Veled buried beside him. This was covered with gold worked cloths, and the wooden sarcophagus placed over the grave of Mevlana’s father Beginner Sultani Bahaeddin Veled. The height of this wooden sarcophagus gives it the appearance of having been stood up on end, giving rise to a story that when Mevlana’s body was brought here for burial his father raised himself upright on account of the respect he felt for his .son’s wisdom and greatness. This is a legend which has been passed by word of mouth from generation to generation for hundreds of years. It is the Turkish appreciation of such an action, that his father should stand up out of respect for the greatness of his son, which keeps this legend alive. Visitors to the Mevlana Museum in Konya look at the high sarcophagus in the Tomb section of the museum with admiration. Whether because of its artistic beauty or because it is that of Mevlana, from whichever point of view one looks at it, excitement will swell in your heart, and carried away by the sound of the flute flowing down from the domes you will find yourself in another world. Here is something other than death. Mevlana speaks from a poem written on the sarcophagus: “When you take my soul, to die is as sweet as sugar. To be with you makes death sweeter than sweet life.” This, in short, is the story of Mevlana’s carved wooden sarcophagus, a masterpiece made 700 years ago.