9 July 2012-- Sema (Mevlevi Worship Ceremony), The Whirling Dervishes Ceremony at Saruhan Caravanserai

The Mevlevi order of the whirling dervishes is a mystic group whose members are followers of Mevlana Celaleddin Runi, a great Turkish poet and mystic. (We visited his grave and museum yesterday in Konya). No pictures were allowed during the ceremony, but I was able to capture pictures in the courtyard of the caravanserai.

This was such an amazing experience. I remember as a kid seeing an article in National Geographic magazine or perhaps a National Geographic special. Despite the language barrier, the audience was lulled into a trance by the beauty of the music and the motion of the dervishes. I had a preconceived notion that somehow they would have been a little more frenetic. I was certainly wrong.

The service is a combination of old Turk, Arabic, and Farsi languages.




























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