The Whirling Dervishes festival is a 10 day event during which the members (dervishes) of the Mevlevi order commemorate the death of their spiritual leader Mevlana Jelaleddin Rumi through their famous Whirling Dervishes Dance. This tradition comes from Rumi himself who believed that it is possible to get an intimate contact with God by joyfully dancing on the streets.
1. EVENT DESCRIPTION
Mevlana Jelaleddin Rumi was a 13th-century Islamic saint that preached love, tolerance, and forgiveness who died in Konya (Turkey) on 17th of December 1273. He loved Allah so much that he used to say that death is only the moment when he will merge with God just like two lovers on their wedding day. His disciples took that idea and use to refer to his death day as ŞEBİ ARUZ which means “wedding ceremony”.
Even if the ŞEBİ ARUZ day is the central symbol of the Whirling Dervishes Festival, the activities dedicated to it usually start 10 days earlier. Aside from the usual things you’d expect from a commemoration (tomb pilgrimage, visiting museums etc.) the main attraction of this event is the daily Whirling Dervishes Dance.
“Dervish” is the common term for an initiate on the Sufi Islamic path. “Whirling” is the part of a ceremony called Sema during which dervishes spin very fast causing their clothes to fan out in a circle. The whole ceremony is accompanied by an orchestra playing specific mystic music and by colorful lights that convey an ethereal atmosphere.
Dervishes performing Sema can be seen wearing some unique pieces of clothing like:
- elongated brown hats (sikke) which represent the tombstone and death of Ego;
- black cloaks that represent death and the grave;
- beneath the black cloaks, they wear long white robes and white jackets which symbolize resurrection.
Sema Ceremony: start of the First Selam
During the Whirling Dervishes Festival, the Sema ceremony takes place at the Mevlana Mausoleum (also known as Mevlana Museum). During the rest of the year, they have a Sema ceremony each Saturday at 7 PM at Mevlana Kultur Merkezi (Mevlana Cultural Center).
1.1 Structure of Sema ceremony
Sema ceremony symbolizes the journey of human spiritual development and it is divided into four main parts.
A. Naat-i Sharif (Exalted poetry). It starts with a solo singer offering an eulogistic speech about Prophet Muhammad. It is followed by a reed flute improvisation (taksim) that symbolizes the Divine breath bringing life to everything.
B. Devr-i Veled (Sultan Veled walk). At a particular moment, a powerful sound (made by a drum or by dervishes slapping the ground with their hands) symbolically marks the Divine act of creation. Then the dervishes start walking slowly three times around the stage and each time they start a circuit they bow to the dervish in front of them and then to the one behind. The bow symbolizes acknowledgment of the Divine breath that brought life into each of us.
C. The Four Salams (The Four Salutes). After completing Devr-i Veled, dervishes remove their black cloaks and start whirling. Their dance is split into four acts called Salams (Salutes), each of them lasting about 10 minutes. Their significance is:
- The first selam represents the start of the human spiritual journey by walking on the path of God;
- The second selam represents the ecstasy experienced by the human when he realizes the splendor of God’s creation;
- The third selam is about the annihilation of the Ego;
- The fourth selam is about the human facing his destiny as a servant of God and of His creation.
D. Quranic recitation. The end of Sema ceremony is marked by a few minutes of Quranic recitation.
2. EVENT DETAILS
2.1 Activities program
During the ten days of the festival, there are two Sema ceremony performances a day. Usually, one starts at 14:00 and one at 20:00.
2.2 Event Access/Tickets info
The access to Sema ceremony is ticket-based and the prices vary between:
– 15TL (2.5$) for the first days of the festival and;
– 50TL (8.5$) for the last day (17th of December).
Whirling Dervishes Festival attracts many tourists and pilgrims. That means the Sema ceremony tickets are sold quickly.
In order to make easy for you to get a ticket, you should try to get it 2-3 weeks in advance. You can do that:
– online at https:/ebilet.konyakultur.gov.tr
– off-line, from Mevlana Cultural Center.
2.3 Tips and Tricks
- the more you”ll read about the Sema ceremony and it’s symbolism the more you’ll enjoy it;
- visit the Rumi’s tomb (inside the Mevlana Museum);
- the ceremony can be boring for kids so you better avoid bringing them with you;
- since Sema is a religious ceremony alcohol consumption is forbidden.
Tips about taking photos and videos:
- you are allowed to take pictures and videos free of charge. Use of flash is forbidden;
- light is very poor and the dervishes are moving most of the time so it is difficult to avoid getting blurry pictures. If you use only a phone or a beginner level camera I suggest to forget about taking pictures and make only a few video clips instead.
- the color of ambient light will change many times during the show and that can confuse your Automatic White Balance function of your camera. To avoid getting weird colors in your pictures/movies you should set your White Balance off from Automatic mode. Chose instead a fixed and neutral White Balance mode (like “Daylight”).
2.4 Organizer
Whirling Dervishes Festival is organized by Konya municipality. Here are its contact data:
- Address: Cimenlik Mah. Aslanli Kisla Cad. Karatay / KONYA / TURKEY
- Website: http://www.mkm.gov.tr/index.php
- E-mail: information@mkm.gov.tr, bilgi@mkm.gov.tr
- Phone: +90 332 352 81 11
3. NEARBY ATTRACTIONS
Documentation in progress.
4. HOW TO GET TO EVENT PLACE
As can be seen from the map below, the Whirling Dervishes Festival is taking place at Mevlana Museum, in the downtown of Konya, Turkey.
In addition to the festival location, there are a few other practical info you’ll need to know before coming to Konya.
4.1 Visa requirements
Most likely, in order to get into Turkey, you’ll need a valid passport with an expiration date of at least 60 days beyond the returning date.
Next step is to check what are the visa requirements for your country. You can do that by using the IVisa form bellow or by clicking here.
4.2 Health and safety
Konya is known as a very safe city and there are no particular health threats. Anyway, it’s good to know that you can call 112 for any safety or health emergencies.
I personally tested Konya medical emergency services when my girlfriend suddenly got ill. Although spoken English of the hospital personnel was pretty bad they had very good care of my girlfriend. On top of that, even if we had travel insurance, they did it for free.
4.3 Money
There are many shops in Konya where you can buy only with Turkish lira, the local currency. Besides, more often than not, if you pay in Turkish lira you’ll get better prices. So the best way of dealing with money is to bring USD or EURO and change them to Turkish Lira (TRY). You can do that even at the airport since the exchange rate is practically as good as anywhere else.
The regular prices in Konya are pretty small compared with western standards. You can get a better idea about that by checking these examples about the cost of living in Konya.
Tips are not very common but if you’ll feel good and generous a tip of around 5% is considered fair.
4.4 Special conditions
- selling and consumption of alcohol are forbidden around all religious places over a radius of 100m (according to a Turkish friend);
- especially during winter, after 9 PM many shops are already closed and public transportation lines no longer run;
- in December the average temperature is around 2°C. That means you need to bring suitable clothes and shoes;
- Konya is a conservative and religious city. The locals expect decent and modest clothing especially for women (the less skin exposed, the better).
4.5 Spoken languages
The local language is Turkish.
The international language that foreign tourists can use in Konya is English. However, you’ll find good English speakers only around popular tourist spots. For the other places, you better take with you a smartphone that you can use to access Google Translate.
4.6 Mobile communication
Public Wi-Fi is still something rare in Konya so the most practical way of being connected to the world is to get a local SIM card.
There are three mobile service companies: Turkcell, Vodafone and Turk Telekom (which is the cheapest). A SIM card preloaded with 5-10GB of mobile internet will cost you around 25 USD.
4.7 Transportation
To and from Konya
Journey from Istambul, price and duration.
From airport.
Some private buses come to citycenter every 1-2 hours depend on flights. It costs nearly 2-3 usd
Also You can take a taxi. 17 kilometres far from airport and it costs nearly 15-20 usd
For bus station (OTOGAR in turkish)
Inside Konya
You can get in Tramway (light city train). It needs ticket/citycard less than 1 usd till to 1.00 Am at nigt
You can get mini buses, its very common fast and cheap.you can pay Money. Its name is Mevlana. But You should check the correct side. Because some of them coming from that way u shouldnt get in them. Till to 23,00 o clock at nigt
You can take Taxi it costs 10-15 usd 12 kilometres far from Mevlana
You can trust Otogar taxi drivers in konya, also you can check by Google maps. But You should ask how much it takes before getting the car.
4.8 Where to sleep
Camping is not famous and common in konya. Also hostels are not famous. You can find hotels guesthouses on Airbnb.
– how long before this event the accommodation prices start to increase? That month increases.
Its starts 15-20 usd at least per person.
4.9 What to eat and drink
You will see Some Coffee shops and Restaurants which name is CAFEM. These places managing by KONYA municipality. Their prices and qualities are high.
For breakfast (missing ingredients)
Simit (BAGEL) this is famous all turkey But konya and Ankara has different style (starts 1,5 TL)
Yag Somunu (Baked local bread with locale Green Cheese) You can Find İn Etliekmek Restaurants. Especially ŞENDAĞLI Restaurant 1 km far from Mevlana Museum 20-25 TL
For Lunch/Dinner
Bamya (Okra Soup) this is special and you can find only in konya. In old times we cooked for wedding ceramony – Şifa Restaurant
Etliekmek (meet with baked bread) Its Like pizza, it has 3-4 style Its most famous food in Konya. Its start from 15 TL – Mevlana Konya Mutfağı by Konya municipality
Fırın Kebap (Owen kebap) this is the special meet every u tried. Only meet bread and fresh onion. – Ali Baba Fırın Kebap
Tirit (sippet) Again Meet and bread but unbeliavable taste. Its a heavy food ı dont edvice at night. Normally that restaurants are closing at 16.00 o clock – Tiritçi Mithat
Hosmerim (desert) I advice with icecream
Ayran (Yogurt with water-salty)
Limonata (lemonade-handmade)
Şalgam (pickle Juice with red carrot-salty)
4.10 Where to buy souvenirs
4.11 Organised tourism
http://konyaturrehberi.net Mr Eray Şenkal
http://www.konyaturrehberim.com/ Mr Yunus Günes
Mevlana Tomb, Panaroma museum, şems Museum, İnce Minare Museum, some ancient mosques – generally free
Sille Ancient city, Aya Eleni Church – Free
Kyotapark Dinasours park somespecial parks – free
Butterfly Valley and Mueseum -20 tl
5. CONTRIBUTORS LIST
Ismail Kayaci from Konya, TURKEY.
Phone/WhatsApp: +90 554 256 31 97
E-mail: ismailinyeri@gmail.com
