Saturday, December 19, 2009

Cappadocia - Whirling Dervishes Show

We went to see a ceremony performed by the Whirling Dervishes.  The Whirling Dervishes started in Konya, which is near Cappadocia.  The Whirling Dervishes are part of a small sect of Islam.  They whirl during part of their ceremony called the Sema.    The Sema represents a person's spiritual journey towards the "Perfect". 

The ceremony was held in an old structure that I would call almost a monastery.  The dervishes used to live here.  It was also used as a stopping point for trips across what is now modern day Turkey.  The building was beautiful.

Photography was not allowed but our tour guide told us to take pictures anyway as long as we hid the camera.  So we just put it on the bench and snapped away.

I'm not sure if I'd recommend attending the ceremony or not.  I almost felt like I was an intruder.  I also felt a little strange that they were putting on this religious ceremony and we were paying to see it.  It felt awkward as it would be so awkward to pay to watch a Catholic mass or other religious ceremony I'm more familiar with.  The whirling is only a small part of the ceremony.  There was also some music and singing/chanting.

Since I'm sure if I tried to explain what I learned I'd either get it wrong or confuse my readers, here's a good article if you're interested in learning more abou the Whirling Dervishes:  http://www.whirlingdervishes.org/whirlingdervishes.htm