Noting that Rumi is still a popular figure even though 800 years have passed since his birth, Akyürek said that Rumi's books, as well as books written by others on Rumi's works, are very popular in Europe.
"This is because Rumi focused on love for human beings and sent messages of peace in his works, which are most needed in today's world," he said. Akyürek disclosed that the Konya Metropolitan Municipality has sponsored the translation of the Mesnevi into various languages in order to promote and disseminate Rumi's message to a greater number of people.
Greek translation
The Konya mayor further explained that they undertook this major cultural service in order to make a contribution to the better understanding of Rumi around the world.
"We've previously published the Mesnevi in 17 languages: Turkish, English, Italian, Persian, German, Urdu, French, Spanish, Turkmen, Arabic, Albanian, Swedish, Japanese, Bosnian, Dutch, Uzbek and Tajik. Now we're adding Chinese, Kazakh and Greek. The publishing of these translations will be completed by the end of this month. The translation of the Mesnevi into Korean and Azerbaijani is also under way," he said. Akyürek also noted that they employ expert academics as translators who work in groups of two or more.
Given to pope and Daum
Akyürek further explained that the translated books are published in small sizes so that they can be carried in pockets.
"The books we publish are presented to foreign guests as gifts from the Prime Ministry, the Presidency and the Foreign Ministry. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Abdullah Gül give the Mesnevi translations we send to them to their foreign guests. Thus, these books have become the usual gift exchanged during their official talks. We, too, give them to our guests. We have also sent them to the Japanese emperor, the queen of Spain, Pope Benedict XVI, coach Christoph Daum and many other celebrities," he said.
