Shams Tabrizi Mosque and Tomb

About this place

The Shams Tabrizi Mosque and Tomb is a small, quiet building in central Konya, holding a tomb attributed to Shams of Tabriz, the dervish whose companionship changed the life of Jalal al-Din Rumi. Admirers of Rumi and of Elif Shafak's novel The Forty Rules of Love come here for a moment of calm away from the crowds at the nearby Mevlana Museum. Shams was born in Tabriz and lived from about 1185 to 1248. He met Rumi in Konya, became his close companion and then mysteriously vanished; Rumi's son Sultan Walad records the disappearance without details. Accounts of his end differ. One says he was killed, another that he left Konya and was buried at Khoy in Iran, which has its own tomb. So his true burial place remains disputed. The building has no founding inscription or endowment deed, so, according to the Turkish Encyclopedia of Islam, no one knows exactly who built it or when. Elements were added over time, including an attached minaret and a women's gallery. The interior is plain, drawing your attention to the tomb. For centuries Mevlevis made a habit of visiting it before going on to Rumi's lodge, and some visitors still do. Konya municipality has carried out restoration work here. The mosque is 700 m from the Mevlana Museum and 500 m from Alaaddin Hill in a straight line, so it fits easily into a walk. Keep shoulders and knees covered, women cover their hair, remove your shoes, and avoid prayer times and Friday midday. It is busiest during the Şeb-i Arus week, 7 to 17 December.