SPECTACLE DES DERVICHES TOURNEURS

The best-known aspect of Sufism, the ritual dance of the Mevlevi "whirling dervishes" (Semazenler, Whirling Dervishes) is called semâ töreni in Turkish. A local troupe gives tourists a glimpse of this dance in the northern part of the old town. Usually, a single dancer waits for customers in front of the Bedesten in the afternoon and dances for ten minutes in a nearby café, or sometimes at the Bedesten itself. A far cry from the spirit of this ecstatic dance, which can last for hours.