People usually know something about the whirling dervishes – perhaps they’ve seen performances inspired by this order in Turkish or Egyptian restaurants, Middle Eastern countries, etc., but there’s much more to them than that.
Before planning my visit to the Turkish town of Konya, located in the Central Anatolian region (on my way to Cappadocia), the only thing I “knew” about them was that there is an “ancient, oddly-dressed” order “somewhere” in the world, whose followers enter some kind of trance while spinning around. I couldn’t have imagined the astonishing philosophy that lies beneath what appears to be a simple “tourist attraction”. (We’ll visit its cradle of origin in the next post, so stay tuned.)
Years before my trip to Cappadocia, while I was in Egypt, I saw a show supposedly inspired by the tales of One Thousand and One Nights (an odd mix for tourists). Alongside belly dancers, they featured a whirling man who they claimed was a dervish. He was spinning in a wide, colorful robe that expanded like a balloon.
Another time, after visiting Konya, I attended a “special dinner-show” at a restaurant in Syria before the war, where tourists were entertained by what was called a whirling dervish dance. By then, I had learned who the dervishes really were and understood that their purpose is not to whirl for tips. Sadly, most tourists weren’t even curious.
About Whirling Dervishes
For anyone who might encounter these so-called “tourist shows” featuring dervishes, here’s a hint: the whirling dervishes are members of the Sufi Muslim order, followers of the great scholar Mevlana Rumi who founded the order in the 12th century. The Mevlana Museum, which includes his mausoleum, is located (you guessed it) in Konya, Turkey where we are off to next.
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Don’t expect to see them whirling at the Museum, though. Instead, ask around to see if there’s a way to catch a glimpse of their prayer schedule which might be happening somewhere in Konya. I was lucky enough to also witness a group of genuine Turkish dervishes who visited Serbia a few years ago and performed part of their prayer routine at a theater in Belgrade. And what a performance that was!
Next: KONYA, CRADLE OF DERVISHES
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24 responses
I saw the whirling dervishes at a train station performance in Istanbul. I was not aware that they performed their ritual in other countries. This was a nice snapshot of where you may encounter the dervishes. You are so correct in that there is so much more to the ritual than just the whirling.
That’s the thing – there are a lot of entertainers (not dervishes themselves), who whirl for tourists in those shows, hotels, clubs etc. Even at the train station, as you’ve mentioned. Thanks! 🙂
I love seeing others spiritual practices. I would love to see Dervishes perform their ritual in person. Maybe one day I will make it to Konya and see them!
Hope you do, it’ll be worth it. 🙂
I’ve never seen a whirling dervish. I had no idea it was part of their religion. I just assumed it was just how they dressed.
Well, if you ever come across their performance, now you’ll know, hehe. Thanks for visiting! 🙂
I have never heard about whirling dervish before but also probably because I have never been in turkey. I haven’t seen any in Egypt tho when I was there! Hopefully I can visit turkey soon and see this awesome show!
Fingers crossed. 😉
I saw a picture of this recently and wondered where and for what reason this dance was… So thanks for sharing! And you are so lucky that you actually got to see it!
Thanks! 🙂
Thank you for clearing this up for me! I have always heard the expression ´Whirling Dervish’ but I didn´t realize that it was an actually thing, and hence any of the other things that I have learned in this post. Thank you for the engaging, educational read!
Oh, you are very kind, thanks! 🙂
Oh wow, was not aware of this fact. What an interesting post about dervishes. I find it very educational and opened another facet of traveling for me. Thanks alot!
Thank you, Alice, glad you like it. 🙂
I have never heard of this particular experience. But, I am always fascinated to learn about cultural dance customs in all areas of the world. It is quite interesting to see how tourism impacts the practice!
Know what you mean, “as long as it sells”, right. Luckily, there are ways to learn. Thanks! 🙂
I have only ever seen pictures or youtube videos of this but never actually seen this in person. When we travel to Turkey we are sure to see this.
It’s one of those things you cannot see “just about anywhere”, that’s what makes it more interesting. 🙂
I’ve seen videos of these but never knew what they were called! I didn’t actually know they are members of the Sufi Muslim order. This is such an informative post – I was under the impression that it was part of their culture so I’m glad that you’ve shed some light on them!
Thanks, glad you found it useful. 🙂
Sad thing is that Mevlama and dervishes turn into a blind tourist entertainment. Sufism has not been mentioned properly even by the promoters of Konya. I keep suggesting people to read some books on sufism to understand why those dervishes whirl around.
You are so right! I was amazed how profound the order was when I’ve learned a bit more about it.
Hi my friend! I wish to say that this post is amazing, nice written and include approximately all important infos. I would like to peer extra posts like this.
Thank you for your kind words. Feel free to browse around the blog for more posts like this. There are also different destinations to choose from.
Cheers! 🙂