Whirling Dervishes

“Would you become a pilgrim on the road of love? The first condition is that you make yourself humble as dust and ashes.” - Mevlana

The Whirling Dervishes Transport You to A Journey of Enlightenment

Mevlevi Sema Ceremony is a mystical ceremony with religious elements, themes and detailed rules. The Sema Ceremony is performed with traditional Mevlevi music in places where the Mevlevi culture can be accurately conveyed. Mevlevi Sema Ceremony is on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2008.

The Mevlevi culture is an ascetic Sufi order founded in 1273 in Konya, from where it gradually spread throughout the Ottoman Empire. Today, it can be found in many Turkish communities worldwide, but the most active and famous centre of the order’s activity is in Konya.

The Mevlevi culture is renowned for its Whirling Dervishes. Everything rotates in the universe. The Earth and the planets revolve around itself and the sun, like the electrons in the atoms, the rotation of blood in the body, and the return of living things from the earth to the earth. For this reason, Mevlevi Dervishes whirl with the love of God.

Following a recommended fast of several hours at the Sema Ceremony, with the Mevlevi music performed with the Ney (reed flute), the Whirling Dervishes in specific and traditional costumes begin to rotate. The body of the whirler is meant to be supple, with eyes open but unfocused so that images become blurred and flowing.

Every year during the first half of December, the Seb-i Arus (Wedding Night) ceremony is held to commemorate, with Mevlevi Sema Ceremony creating a fascinating performance for the viewer.