Whirling dervishes honour Rumi

Each year, thousands of people travel to the Turkish city of Konya to attend a week-long series of events and ceremonies that mark the death of the 13th-century Islamic poet, scholar and Sufi mystic Jalaladdin Rumi. By Francisco Seco

  • Whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi order perform during a Sheb-i Arus ceremony in Konya, central Turkey on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021. Every December the Anatolian city hosts a series of events to commemorate the death of 13th century Islamic scholar, poet and Sufi mystic Jalaladdin Rumi (photo: AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
    Visitors were able to return in 2021, after the coronavirus pandemic forced commemorations in 2020 to be held without spectators. One visitor said he was inspired to travel to Konya by Rumi: "Come! Come again! Whoever, whatever you may be, come! Heathen, idolatrous or fire worshipper, come! Even if you deny your oaths a hundred times, come! Our door is the door of hope, come! Come as you are!"
  • Whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi order perform during a Sheb-i Arus ceremony in Konya, central Turkey on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021. Every December the Anatolian city hosts a series of events to commemorate the death of 13th century Islamic scholar, poet and Sufi mystic Jalaladdin Rumi (photo: AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
    Instead of mourning Rumi's death, the ceremonies celebrate what his followers believe is his union with God. The main feature of the "Sheb-i Arus" or "night of the union", is an enchanting ritual performed by the dervishes of the Mevlevi order – more commonly known as the whirling dervishes
  • Fahri Ozcakil, sheikh of the Mevlevi order of whirling dervishes offers his prayers during a Sheb-i Arus ceremony, in Konya, central Turkey on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021. Every December the Anatolian city hosts a series of events to commemorate the death of 13th century Islamic scholar, poet and Sufi mystic Jalaladdin Rumi (photo: AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
    The rite begins with a recital of prayers and verses from the Koran. The dervishes, dressed in long white robes symbolising shrouds, black cloaks symbolising tombs and long headgear symbolising tombstones, then rise from the ground to salute each other
  • Whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi order perform during a Sheb-i Arus ceremony in Konya, central Turkey on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021. Every December the Anatolian city hosts a series of events to commemorate the death of 13th century Islamic scholar, poet and Sufi mystic Jalaladdin Rumi (photo: AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
    Leaving their cloaks on the ground, they take their places around the circular floor and begin to spin to reach a trance-like state that they believe unites them with God. As they whirl, the dervishes’ right hands are symbolically turned upward toward God, while their left hands are turned downward to Earth
  • Whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi order recite prayers during a Sheb-i Arus ceremony in Konya, central Turkey on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021. Every December the Anatolian city hosts a series of events to commemorate the death of 13th century Islamic scholar, poet and Sufi mystic Jalaladdin Rumi. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) The ceremony ends as it started, with the recital of prayers (photo: AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
    The ritual is performed to the sound of chanting and music from a reed flute and other instruments; it ends as it started, with the recital of prayers
  • Whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi order perform during a Sheb-i Arus ceremony in Konya, central Turkey on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021. Every December the Anatolian city hosts a series of events to commemorate the death of 13th century Islamic scholar, poet and Sufi mystic Jalaladdin Rumi (photo: AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
    Rumi, who is known as Mevlana in Turkey, was born in Balkh – which is now in Afghanistan – in 1207, but settled in Konya, where he died on 17 December 1273. His son, Sultan Veled, established the Mevlevi order of the mystical form of Islam, Sufism, after his death
  • Whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi order perform during a Sheb-i Arus ceremony in Konya, central Turkey on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021. Every December the Anatolian city hosts a series of events to commemorate the death of 13th century Islamic scholar, poet and Sufi mystic Jalaladdin Rumi (photo: AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
    Although religious orders were banned in Turkey in the early 1920s with the establishment of the secular republic, the dervishes’ rituals were regarded as a cultural heritage and the order was largely tolerated
  • Whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi order perform during a Sheb-i Arus ceremony in Konya, central Turkey on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021. Every December the Anatolian city hosts a series of events to commemorate the death of 13th century Islamic scholar, poet and Sufi mystic Jalaladdin Rumi (photo: AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
    There are now many Sufi dervish orders around the world, including in the United States. Women have been allowed to join some lodges, although an overwhelming number of dervishes are men
  • Whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi order perform during a Sheb-i Arus ceremony in Konya, central Turkey on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021. Every December the Anatolian city hosts a series of events to commemorate the death of 13th century Islamic scholar, poet and Sufi mystic Jalaladdin Rumi (photo: AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
    In 2005, the United Nations’ cultural body, UNESCO, proclaimed the dervishes’ ritual a masterpiece of "the oral and intangible heritage of humanity." The structure holding Rumi’s tomb in Konya is now a museum as well as a pilgrimage site