SHOTLIST: ROME, ITALY (JUNE 25, 2025) (ANADOLU - ACCESS ALL) 1. EXTERIOR WIDE SHOT OF HISTORIC COLOSSEUM 2. CLOSE SHOT OF HISTORIC COLOSSEUM 3. AUDIENCE SITTING IN HISTORIC TEMPLE OF VENUS/ SCREEN 4. VIDEO SHOWING TÜRKİYE'S HERITAGE BEING DISPLAYED 5. VARIOUS OF SEMA CEREMONY BEING HELD AT HISTORIC TEMPLE OF VENUS/ DERVISHES CHANTING PRAYERS/ WHIRLING/ MUSIC PLAYING/ RECITING HOLY QURAN 6. NOCTURNAL DRONE SHOT OF HISTORIC COLOSSEUM 7. NOCTURNAL DRONE SHOT OF TEMPLE OF VENUS (TWO SHOTS) 8. NOCTURNAL DRONE SHOT OF SEMA CEREMONY BEING HELD AT TEMPLE OF VENUS 9. BIRD'S-EYE VIEW DRONE SHOT OF WHIRLING DERVISHES 10. NOCTURNAL DRONE SHOT OF SEMA AS DERVISHES SWIRLING AT TEMPLE OF VENUS ROME, ITALY - JUNE 25: A mesmerizing Sufi ceremony known as sema was performed by whirling dervishes in front of the Colosseum, at the historic Temple of Venus, on Wednesday, June 25, captivating the audience with its spiritual elegance and visual splendor. The event marked the first-ever sema ceremony held at the ancient Roman site and was organized by Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism in cooperation with Italy’s Ministry of Culture. Part of UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, the sema ceremony conveys the universal message of peace and love rooted in the teachings of Mevlana Jalaluddin al-Rumi, a 13th-century Sufi mystic and poet. The ceremony left a lasting impression on the international audience, bridging cultures through a display of Türkiye’s spiritual heritage and Rumi’s message of love and devotion. Born into a Turkic family in present-day Afghanistan in 1207, Rumi is one of the most widely read philosophers across the world, whose teachings have transcended boundaries of race, color, and religion. With his book Masnavi, which was penned after losing his close friend -- a wandering dervish called Shams Tabrizi -- Rumi focused on tolerance and divine love, building a religious legacy that has a worldwide influence especially in Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, and central Asia. The Masnavi poem, with its more than 50,000 verses, is considered the most influential work on Sufism and has been translated into 26 languages -- including Turkish, English, French, Spanish, and Arabic -- from its original Persian. The poem, which consists of stories inspired by the Quran’s teachings and Prophet Muhammad’s morals, was last translated into Kyrgyz. Apart from the famous Masnavi, Rumi also wrote Divan-i Kabir, which consists of over 40,000 verses of lyric poems. - History of Whirling Dervishes Upon Mevlana's death in 1273, Rumi’s followers founded the Mevlevi Order, also known as the Order of the Whirling Dervishes, famous for the Sufi dance known as the Sema ceremony. An indispensable part of the order, Sema is a whirling act accompanied by music and characterized by certain rules. The ritual begins with Nat-i Sherif, a song in praise of Prophet Mohammad. It is followed by the entrance of the semazens, whirling dervishes dancing, with their arms across their chests in tune with the music. As the semazens begin the whirling ritual, they take off the waistcoat as an indication for stepping into purification, putting the ego aside. As a ritual full of symbols, everything from acts to clothes bears meaning in Sema. The Semahane (dance hall) has a circular floor to represent the universe, and the post on which the Sheikh -- the leader of the ritual -- sits is red as a symbol for the sunset representing the time of the day Rumi united with God. The post on which a beginner of the Mevlevi Order sits is black. His journey to enlightenment earns him a white post. Dressed in a symbolic costume of white robes and a tall hat called a "sikke", the semazens open both arms to the sides and they whirl in a counter-clockwise direction as if embracing the entire universe. The right hand with an open palm extended upwards indicates reception from God, passage through the heart’s path. The left hand with the palm extended downwards indicates fair distribution among fellow men. At this point, there is also an emphasis on the dervish’s dissolving into divine existence. Finalized with greetings of peace by semazens, the Sema usually ends with a recitation from the Holy Quran. Described as one of the most exquisite ceremonies of spirituality, the whirling of the dervishes is an act of love and faith possessing a highly-structured form. Sema was declared as one of the "Masterpieces of the Oral and Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO in 2008. When Rumi passed away, he was laid to rest near his father. The Green Dome, the site of Rumi’s tomb, was built later. The Mevlana Dervish Convent and Tomb opened in 1926 and became the Mevlana Museum in 1954. Since 1937, an international commemoration ceremony marking the anniversary of Rumi’s union with God is held in Konya on Dec. 7-17 every year. Writing by Ayse Elif Erdis.