Jason stayed home with the kids while I took an impromptu trip to Konya for the annual Mevlana Festival. It is the anniversary of the death of Rumi, a mystic philosopher from the 13th century, and December 17 is considered his wedding day to Allah. The religion isn't really practiced anymore, but the traditional dance of the whirling dervishes continues, and the culmination of the week-long festival is on December 17 every year.
The ceremony begins with the dervishes greeting the master three times.
After the greeting, the dervishes drop their black robes (signifying shedding their worldly attachments) and one by one pass by the master and begin to whirl.
The dancing was beautifully smooth and trance-like. As they spin individually, the whole group rotates almost imperceptibly.
They reach their right hand up to the sky to receive blessings from Allah, and their left hands to the ground to pass those blessings to earth.
Every few minutes, they paused to regroup, and then began the dance again.
Finally, they put their black robes on again and left the hall.
There was an orchestra and choir singing traditional chants and playing traditional music.
The welcome sign at the entrance to the cultural center.
