Saturday, February 21, 1931, Konya

Atatürk wanted to visit the Mevlana Museum (then known as Asar-ı Atika Museum), which was organized as a museum in 1926 by his own orders, and came to the museum at 14.00 in the afternoon.

Atatürk stayed in the museum for exactly three hours. He examined the carpets, plates and manuscripts on display one by one. Especially in the 14th and 15th centuries, the Qur'an manuscripts translated into Turkish attracted his attention.

-  "So our ancestors translated the Qur'an hundreds of years ago. I am pleased with that." Said.

After his examinations in the museum halls, Atatürk moved to the director's room, which was the former Çelebi Office. On the Niyaz Window arch open to the tomb where Mevlana's sarcophagus is located, a green destard Mevlevi coin (cone) was depicted many years ago, and the following rubai of Mevlana in Persian was written on the coin:

Derha heme besteend illa der-i tu

Ta reh nebered garib illa ber-i tu

O der Kerem-u-izzet-u nur-efşani

Horşid-u mah-u sitaregan çaker-i tu

A picture of the Mevlevi coin with the Persian rubai of Mevlana.

The writing caught Atatürk's attention and he ordered Hasan Ali Yücel , who was with him , to read and translate it. Hasan Ali Yücel, who knows Persian very well, read the rubai and translated it into Turkish as follows:

"O you (Allah) who is a servant of the sun, moon and stars in my grace, glory and radiance. All other doors have been closed so that strange lovers cannot find a way to another door other than yours, only your door has been left open."

After listening to the translation carefully, Atatürk focused on the last sentence and said:

- "So, even though all the doors are closed, this door remains open. In fact, during my visit here in 1923, he thought, "Let's not close this Lodge, let's open it to the public as a museum." I said either turn the Mevlana Lodge and Tomb into a museum with its own belongings. I see that I fulfilled the rule of the poem read. Look what a beautiful museum this has become." 

Leaving the Mevlevi Lodge. (March 22, 1923)

Atatürk on February 21, 1931 in the Mevlana Museum diary book ;

“I was very pleased with the organization and order, which turned out to be a work of knowledge.”

                                                                           Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

downgraded.

What Atatürk wrote in the museum book during his visit to Konya Mevlana Museum (then known as Asar-ı Atika Museum) on February 21, 1931.

Source: Taken from Mehmet Önder, “Atatürk Konya’da”.