OMM Redaksiyası
The restored mausoleum of 13th-century Sufi thinker Shams Tabrizi has opened in the northwestern Iranian city of Khoy. The project comes alongside plans to create a tourism route linking Iranian cultural heritage sites with the tomb of Jalal al-Din Rumi in Konya, Türkiye.
The opening ceremony was held on Wednesday evening in Khoy, in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province, which borders Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Iraq.
Iranian Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Reza Salehi-Amiri announced plans at the ceremony to create a “spiritual tourism route” linking sites associated with prominent figures in Persian literature and the history of Sufism.
The route is intended to begin at sites associated with Attar and pass through Semnan and the shrines of Sheikh Abu al-Hasan Kharaqani and Bayazid Bastami. It would then extend to Suhraward, associated with Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi, known as Sheikh al-Ishraq, before continuing to Shams Tabrizi’s mausoleum in Khoy and to Urmia.
“Across the border, the connection will continue to Konya,” the minister said. Konya is closely associated with Jalal al-Din Rumi, known as Mevlana.
Shams Tabrizi was a 13th-century Persian Sufi thinker. His spiritual influence on Rumi left a significant mark on Persian literature and Sufi thought.
According to tradition, Shams Tabrizi was born in Tabriz and died in the Khoy area. The circumstances of his disappearance and death remain unclear. The mausoleum is believed to mark his burial place.
Restored several times over the centuries, the mausoleum underwent another reconstruction project aimed at preserving its historical significance and attracting more visitors to the region.
Salehi-Amiri said Iran has so far registered 30 monuments with UNESCO, while the process of registering another 58 is ongoing. He told ceremony attendees that Iran’s civilizational heritage could be more broadly represented worldwide if there were no restrictions on the registration process.
Iranian officials hope the new route will raise Khoy’s international profile and attract tourists interested in the work of Shams Tabrizi and Rumi.
