Ritual of The Whirling Dervishes
Istanbul / Cappadocia
The Mosque of Suliman the Magnificent was constructed in Istanbul between 1550 and 1557 and reveals the true virtuosity of Sinan, who to this day remains the most renowned of all Ottoman architects.
The ceremonial demonstration that you will witness may be held in Daruzziyafe, a large chamber situated within the complex of the Mosque of Suliman. It is the dining room where Sultan Suliman himself offered food for the poor as part of one of the five pillars of Islam.
During your car journey guides will explain the philosophy, ideas, and practices, of the whirling dervishes. You will also learn something about the extraordinary Mevlana, philosopher, poet, sage, mystic, both founder of this brotherhood and it's special approach to devotional practice.
We distribute explicatory booklets about the ceremony.
Dervishes : A Dervish is a member of a religious brotherhood and is regarded as a Sufi. The term "Dervish" comes from Persian and signifies a person who lives a voluntarily poor mendicant life. He is one who is employed wholly in exercises of devotion and mortification, is indifferent to all material possessions and is renound for his wisdom. Some men live within the fraternity under conditions very similar a monastic regime
Their orations that you will hear and witness are mostly in the form of chantsi, interpretations of musical instruments and tambourines, plus dances and poetry. One of the most well-known groups, which likes to distinguish itself from Dervishes, is called Mevlevi, otherwise known as The Whirling Dervishes of Turkey.