Happy 800th Birthday Rumi

"If the sky is not in love, then it will not be so clear. If the sun is not in love, then it will not be giving any light. If the river is not in love, then it will be in silence, it will not be moving. If the mountains, the earth are not in love, then there will be nothing growing."

Rumi is 800 years old today. Read a special article by BBC News here.

The above is a photo of me in Balkh, the place where Rumi was borned.. 800 years ago, in 1207. My man and his kalashnikov in front of the famous Blue Mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif, north Afghanistan. By Afghan standards, what I was wearing was a bit too figure hugging and I didnt think they like that my hair was showing! And the floor was searing hot on my bare foot!