Whirling dervishes: what the sema is, and where to see it

The whirling dervishes are the Mevlevi, a Sufi order founded in Konya in the 13th century by the followers of the poet Jalaluddin Rumi, whom Turks call Mevlana. The whirling is not a dance but a ritual, the sema, and knowing what you are watching changes it completely.

The ceremony

The semazens wear a tall camel-hair hat (the tombstone of the ego), a black cloak (the grave) which they drop at the start to reveal a white robe (the shroud). The ceremony opens with a eulogy to the Prophet and a long note on the ney, the reed flute, whose sound Rumi compared to the soul's longing for its source. The dervishes walk three times round the hall, bowing to each other, then begin to turn: right hand open to heaven to receive, left hand turned to earth to give, head inclined, the right foot pivoting on the spot. There are four movements (selams), each a stage in the soul's journey towards union with God, and the sheikh joins the last one. It ends with a reading from the Quran and silence. The whole thing lasts about an hour.

Sema or show

A real sema is a religious ceremony: no applause, no photographs during the turning, sombre dress. In Istanbul the ceremonies at the Galata Mevlevihanesi (a restored lodge in Beyoglu, now a museum) and at a few cultural centres are of that kind; your guide can tell you which evening that week. The Mevlana festival in Konya in mid-December is the great annual gathering, but Konya is not on our route.

The Turkish night in Cappadocia, an optional evening on our inland tours, is a show: dinner, local wine, folk dances from different regions, a belly dancer, and a sema performance by trained semazens in the middle of it. It is well done and a good introduction, and the audience understands it is a performance. Both have their place; go in knowing which one you have bought.

Rumi

Born in 1207 in what is now Afghanistan, settled in Konya, wrote the Masnavi, died in 1273; his tomb in Konya is one of the most visited places in Turkey. His lines are everywhere in the country, on cafe walls and in wedding speeches. "Come, come, whoever you are" is the one you will see most.

On our route

Optional in Istanbul on day 1 or 2 (ask your guide), and as part of the Turkish night on the first evening in Cappadocia on Fethiye to Istanbul, All Around Turkey and the longer routes.