Turning
“Love is bondage willingly accepted by the free. The turning of the spheres is perpetually returning. Life is returning.”
Turning was made in 1973 to coincide with the 700th Anniversary of Jelaluddin Rumi. Produced and narrated by the Australian actress, Diane Cilento, it is set in Asia Minor,
now known as Turkey, a part of the world which has historically exerted a profound influence on Western culture and beliefs. Bulent Rauf who studied Hittite Archaeology at Yale University acted as advisor. Narrator of the second half of the film, Mr. Rauf was consultant to the Beshara School of Esoteric Education in the U.K. from its inception until his death in 1987.
Turning traces the evolution of the human concept and appreciation of Universal Nature. The film begins with the Anatolian neolithic city of Catal Huyuk, 50 kilometers from modern Konya. Discovered and partially excavated by well-known Archaeologist, James Mellaart, Catal Huyuk flourished 7,000 years before the birth of Christ and is the earliest known city. Its culture was dominated by the symbol of the goddess, maternal and eternally prolific.
Turning then moves to Ephesus, the Aegean seaport which was for many years the center of the cult of the goddess, and maps the progress from Artemis to Diana and then to the Virgin Mary, whose house is in the hills nearby. Returning to Konya, the 13th century home of the great saint, poet and teacher, Jelaluddin Rumi, Turning concludes with a beautiful portrait of the ritual Sema, the mystic dance of the Whirling Dervishes in which Man is seen as the link between God and Creation. Bulent Rauf provides a concise commentary on the cosmology expressed through the geometry of the movements.