Ruminating with Rumi
As seen on AFAR Spiritual and sensual, ascetic and ecstatic, Rumi’s poetry has provided me an island of tranquility since my college years. Two of his quatrains, in particular, had a profound influence...
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Going Deep with the Dervishes
As seen on AFAR Rumi was born in Afghanistan, spent time in Persia (what is now Iran), and then settled in Konya, Turkey due to his father being invited to be a scholar there. Rumi became an Islamic...
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My Favorite Travel Agent in Turkey
As seen on AFAR You don’t have to come to Konya in the middle of December to see a Whirling Dervish ceremony as they have Saturday evening presentations year-round at the Mevlana Cultural Center (Rumi...
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Dervish Devotion
And now the fun begins. The Semazen drop their black cloaks (known as hirkas) which represent their earthly personality (worldly tombs) while their conical felt hats are their tombstones. With arms...
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"You Spin Me Round..."
Ironically, it was a band called Dead or Alive which recorded this hit pop song of the mid-1980s. Well, I was feeling very alive when the dervishes made their first spin around the circle. The audience...
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Divine Intoxication: Whirling Over Wine
As seen on AFAR If you make the pilgrimage to Konya for the festival, just know that it’s a “dry” town since it’s Turkey’s most religious city. While back in Rumi’s day (and in his poetry), one could...
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Life's A Dance
One of the treats of visiting the festival is each night before the show (there are shows in the afternoon and the evening each of the ten days of the festival) a Rumi scholar would speak and answer...
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Who Goes to a Whirling Dervish Festival Commemorating Rumi?
WHO GOES TO A WHIRLING DERVISH FESTIVAL COMMEMORATING RUMI? When I first heard of this festival in central Turkey where the poet Rumi lived his final years and is buried, I was certain there would be...
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What to do in Dervish Country
WHAT TO DO IN DERVISH COUNTRY Just 45 minutes from Konya is an archaeological dig at Catalhoyuk which has been designated as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. You’ll drive through a high prairie,...
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The Year of Living Deliciously
Growing up an aspiring filmmaker, one of my favorite films was “The Year of Living Dangerously” featuring lanky Sigourney Weaver and diminutive Linda Hunt (and a strapping, young Mel Gibson) in the...
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Flying Higher Than a Dervish: Hot Air Ballooning in Cappodacia
Before going to the land of weird rock formations, the number one piece of advice I’d gotten was to book a hot-air balloon. I had my concerns. First off, it costs more than $200 per person. Secondly,...
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How I learned to Whirl Like a Dervish
As seen on AFAR As much as I enjoyed the spectacle and Rumi-obsessed Whirling Dervish festival in Konya, I have a confession to make. Going to a Dervish ceremony in a yellow-colored caravansary,...
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