Paulo Coelho

Paulo talks about Saint Joseph (English)

(para explicaí§í£o portugues, CLICAR AQUI )

Paulo and his friends praying

Dear Paulo,
Herve, Veronique, Basia… and many many more lights who illuminated Istanbul in the past few days… what can I say? Except “thank you” for sharing with me this gathering of the souls… Souls who came only out of love… for love, by Love…

I find myself quoting the Quran too often when writing to you, but when I see the manifestations of Quranic verses in this great journey of millions of souls all over the world, I just can’t help it…

The Holy Quran says:
“Then strive together towards all that is good. Wherever you may be, God brings you together.”

So please pray for me, Paulo, that I remain as young as you.

And… and thank you again for everything.
Your kindness, generosity, but most importantly, your love for love really touched my heart. And the beautiful energy which came to Istanbul with St. Joseph’s Day has brought calm and contentment to my heart.

God says in the Holy Quran:
“Hearts only find contentment with the remembrance of God.”

So I thank you, Christina, Juliana and all the beautiful souls who have contributed in creating a time and a place for us to remember God, a time and a place to remember Love.
The gathering may have been over, but the remembrance continues.
With salams and warmest regards from Istanbul, the city of Elif,

Serdar Ozkan

_____________________________________
Who would have thought, a couple of years ago I did not even know who Paulo Coelho was, and there I was like Santiago in The Alchemist setting off on a great adventure.

19 March is Saint Joseph Day. On that day Paulo Coelho celebrates his Saint’s Day with a select group of friends.

One day I was sat by the river in Guildford. There was an attractive Lithuanian girl totally engrossed in a book. What had her so engrossed I wondered? Well there was only one way to find out, I asked her.

I learnt she was reading The Zahir by the Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho. A few years later, having in the between times read all of his books, I found myself at the recently renovated Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul as a guest of Paulo Coelho at his St Joseph Day party.

Paulo Coelho was born dead, strangled by his umbilical cord. His mother made a promise to Saint Joseph, the name of the hospital where Paulo Coelho was born.

Today, Paulo Coelho keeps that promise. He celebrates St Joseph’s Day and gives thanks by invitıng his friends to a party. Last year ıt was at Melk Abbey ın Austria, this year it was at the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul.

Earlier in the day Paulo Coelho gave a press conference at the Pera Palace Hotel.

The party started with cocktails. Then when everyone was seated for dinner, Paulo Coelho after having explained why he held a party for his friends every year on St Joseph’s Day, ınvıted everyone to join him in prayer. He said a prayer ın Portuguese then others said a prayer in several other languages – English, Spanish, French, Greek, German, Japanese – it was quite a moving experience.

(to read the full text, go to Keith’s Blog )

____________________________________
PHOTOS: courtesy of my friend Marcos Borges, HERE