A million people are expected to descend on Konya, a city in central Turkey, from December 10-17 for a mystical dance festival. And we're not talking about ballet, salsa, hip hop, tap or hip-swinging Bollywood boogying. The Whirling Dervishes Festival is in a class all of its own, highlighting a spiritual dance form that is believed to help dancers attain a union with God.
Who are the Whirling Dervishes?
The Whirling Dervishes are a part of the Sufi branch of Islam, known for its mysticism and asceticism. Scholars of Sufism have defined it in many different ways throughout the times, but they all agree on its fundamental character as being the inner, esoteric, mystical, or purely spiritual dimension of Islam. To become a Dervish, one must take a vow of poverty and live in monastic conditions, similar to Christian monks. For these Dervishes, spinning is their way of worshipping God.
What is this festival about?
The festival commemorates the death of a great philosopher and mystic of Islam, Mevlana (also known as Rumi) whose doctrine advocates
unlimited tolerance, positive reasoning, goodness, charity and awareness through love. His philosophy is encapsulated in one of his poems:
Come come whoever you are
Whether you are a non-believer,
Whether you worship fire or an idol,
Whether you have repented a hundred times,
Whether you have broken a vow of repentance a hundred times,
This is not a vow of desperation;
Come however you are.
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