Visions of dervishes dancing in my head
© Meredith Mullins

The Travel Adventures of an Istanbul Dervish Groupie

I have always been drawn to exotic corners of the world. Travel adventures at the crossroads of cultures. Layers of the past interwoven with the changing rhythms of the present. The magical and mysterious places of trade-route caravans and Scheherazade-like storytelling.

Always on the list was Istanbul. I had been to Turkey many times. I had seen incredible riches, such as the strangely beheaded statues of Nemrut Dagi in the east, the ancient Greco-Roman ruins in seaside villages of the south coast, and the moonscapes of Cappadocia.

But in all my travels, I had yet to see the mystical Sufi Sema ceremony. Visions of whirling dervishes were dancing in my head.

Travel adventures in Istanbul
© Meredith Mullins

Let the Journey Begin

I headed to Istanbul, where I knew the dervishes were still performing, sponsored by cultural centers that are dedicated to sharing this 700-year-old ritual with the modern world. My destiny was clear . . . but there were to be challenges.

After a few false starts, my small Turkish internet airline managed to rally a plane. When we finally landed in Istanbul in the dead of night, a kindly van driver said he was our ride.

All was well until our van was stopped as we left the airport, and the driver was taken away by the police. Another kindly van driver took over and explained that “it was just a small problem with the local authorities.”

These are the kind of travel adventures that make you glad you finally arrive safely at your destination.

Then . . . on my very next night, a mysterious stranger brushed past and whispered “Pssst, wanna see some dervishes?”

And so it was meant to be. And for the next ten days, I was in a whirlwind of whirling. I became a dervish groupie.

Istanbul is not all whirling dervishes. The mysterious basilica cistern also merits a visit.
© Meredith Mullins

Istanbul Promise

Although there are many things to do and see in Istanbul, such as the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, the covered market, the labyrinthian basilica cistern, and the ancient hammams, I was on a dervish mission.

The Istanbul covered market is a maze of treasures. Can you find the seller in this photo?
© Meredith Mullins

I watched dervishes every night and came to know the Sema ceremony by heart. I fell into my own trance as the dervishes danced. They were mesmerizing and showed me a graceful path to Rumi’s hope that we all learn to “take a step without feet.”

Let us learn to take a step without feet.—Rumi
© Meredith Mullins

The Sufi Philosophy

Konya, in central Turkey, is the center of the dervishes, where the Islamic Mevlevi order was founded in 1312. This particular dimension of Islam followed the spiritual philosophies of the mystical poet and Sufi master Rumi, also called Mevlana (or “our leader”).

At the height of the order, there were more than 100 tekkes (monasteries) across the Ottoman empire (including Greece, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, and Iran).

Mevlana’s followers had monasteries across the middle east.
© Meredith Mullins

After World War I, however, the Sufi organizations were declared illegal. But the dervishes whirled on, often in secret. Today, several government sponsored venues are organized for visitors to better understand this historic dance of prayer.

The dervishes arrive in black cloaks.
© Meredith Mullins

The Dance

The dervishes, also called semazens, arrive in black cloaks. The gesture of removing their cloak to reveal their white tenure with its swirling skirt represents a spiritual rebirth to the truth. They are freeing themselves from the attachments of this world, just as their leader Rumi did with his ascetic life.

At the beginning of the ceremony, the dervishes cross their arms to show unity with God.
© Meredith Mullins

They wear a tall tubular camel hair hat, called a sikke. The sikke represents a tombstone for the ego. The dervishes, lose themselves—their ego—in their dance as they meditate, chant, and pray.

While whirling, they hold their right hand toward the sky, showing their readiness to receive God’s love. They hold their left hand toward the earth to pass that gift to those on earth.

As they whirl, dervishes hold their right hand toward the sky and their left hand toward the earth.
© Meredith Mullins

They whirl to show the idea of a revolving body. This is part of their faith—the idea that everything revolves—from the planets; to the protons, neutrons, and electrons of atoms; to blood flowing through our bodies; to the human cycle of birth to death.

It is said that the Sema ceremony unites the three fundamental components of human nature: mind, body, and heart. Some people think that the dervishes are in ecstasy when they whirl.

The movement represents revolving in all aspects of life.
© Meredith Mullins

But the music and dramatic turning just give them a feeling of soaring . . . of mystical flight. They are in a meditative trance.

Rumi said, “There are many roads which lead to God. I have chosen the one of dance and music.”

A mystical flight
© Meredith Mullins

An “Oh, I See” Moment in the World of Travel Adventures

No matter what religious beliefs you hold or what spiritual path you might be on, the Sema ceremony of the whirling dervishes is spellbinding.

These moments are the kind of travel adventures that let you see into the souls of the local people and learn from their teachings—the absolute best way to see the world.

Only from the heart can you touch the sky. —Rumi

Touching the sky
© Meredith Mullins

For more information about whirling dervishes and the Sema ceremonies in Istanbul, visit the Galata Mevlevi House Museum and the Hodjapasha Cultural Center site.

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