The Whirling Dervishes - Post Dervish Therapy
(Jumping ahead a few days)
It was hard finding out that our balloon ride in Cappadocia was canceled. It was one of the main reasons we came to visit the area. Every day hundreds of balloons take flight through the Rose Valley at sunrise. The result is a beautiful skyline dotted with beautiful colors over a golden rose landscape. However, for us that picture would not come true. Our flight had been cancelled due to wind. Many travels were in the same boat.
After the tour we came back to the cave hotel (yes we got to sleep in a cave) and decided we would relax and get caught up on some much needed sleep. Speaking with the front desk he suggested an alternative to bed, the famous Whirling Dervish Show. This show however would be better than any other one offered in Turkey because it was performed in an old caravanserai (trading market during the Silk Road time period) and was the most authentic.
Excited we booked the tickets and decided to enjoy our evening with a new plan! The taxi took us about 25 minutes outside of the city and pulled up to the building. Nothing else was around. The caravanserai was a beautiful stone building that reminded me of those I saw all over Uzbekistan. We walked in to our seats. It turns out it would be a very intimate performance with only 7 others enjoying the show.
The lights went out and the show began. Eight men walked in dressed in all black with light brown tall hats sitting upon their heads (Symbolic of tombstones for their egos). Silence. One began to chant a soothing and mystical song that echoed off the tall caravanserai ceilings. At first the song he sang was comforting and beautiful. That changed as the song continued on for more than 20 minutes and began to resemble more of a wailing Child. I would be lying if I said we didn't doze off a little.
I decided to use this time to read the brochure explaining what Whirling Dervishes were. In my mind they were a performance act that performed a dance in older times, a sort of show. Boy was I wrong! It turns out The Whirling Dervishes were much more symbolic and spiritual. This was a ceremony we were watching, not a show. To sum it up they connect the fact that life is a constant revolution and use it to cleanse themselves. Everything revolves and in turn they revolve in a sort of ritual as well with a hand upwards to receive gifts from God and the other hand down to the earth. They always revolve in the same directions tilted slightly over their heart.
The ceremony continued passing through different stages such as flute playing, the dervishes being reborn, a master reciting parts of the Quran, and some other things I still can't wrap my head around. I suggest doing a nice little Google search to read more and see some videos.
When the ceremony was over I looked towards my mom. She tried to stifle her laughter as she expressed her opinion on the show. Trying to be respectful she whispered her opinion while I recorded her and tears of laughter snuck out. It may have been the lack of sleep for days that caused the reaction or the fact we went into the ceremony thinking it was an entertaining show. Either way it was definitely a night we will never forget. Even writing about the "what in the world did we just watch" show has me cracking up once more.
Arriving back at the town we went out to eat and bought a local bottle of wine to commemorate our "special" evening. Let's just say we had a fun night shopping after that. My mom referred to the dinner and shopping as Post Dervish Therapy.
(Jumping ahead a few days)
It was hard finding out that our balloon ride in Cappadocia was canceled. It was one of the main reasons we came to visit the area. Every day hundreds of balloons take flight through the Rose Valley at sunrise. The result is a beautiful skyline dotted with beautiful colors over a golden rose landscape. However, for us that picture would not come true. Our flight had been cancelled due to wind. Many travels were in the same boat.
After the tour we came back to the cave hotel (yes we got to sleep in a cave) and decided we would relax and get caught up on some much needed sleep. Speaking with the front desk he suggested an alternative to bed, the famous Whirling Dervish Show. This show however would be better than any other one offered in Turkey because it was performed in an old caravanserai (trading market during the Silk Road time period) and was the most authentic.
Excited we booked the tickets and decided to enjoy our evening with a new plan! The taxi took us about 25 minutes outside of the city and pulled up to the building. Nothing else was around. The caravanserai was a beautiful stone building that reminded me of those I saw all over Uzbekistan. We walked in to our seats. It turns out it would be a very intimate performance with only 7 others enjoying the show.
The lights went out and the show began. Eight men walked in dressed in all black with light brown tall hats sitting upon their heads (Symbolic of tombstones for their egos). Silence. One began to chant a soothing and mystical song that echoed off the tall caravanserai ceilings. At first the song he sang was comforting and beautiful. That changed as the song continued on for more than 20 minutes and began to resemble more of a wailing Child. I would be lying if I said we didn't doze off a little.
I decided to use this time to read the brochure explaining what Whirling Dervishes were. In my mind they were a performance act that performed a dance in older times, a sort of show. Boy was I wrong! It turns out The Whirling Dervishes were much more symbolic and spiritual. This was a ceremony we were watching, not a show. To sum it up they connect the fact that life is a constant revolution and use it to cleanse themselves. Everything revolves and in turn they revolve in a sort of ritual as well with a hand upwards to receive gifts from God and the other hand down to the earth. They always revolve in the same directions tilted slightly over their heart.
The ceremony continued passing through different stages such as flute playing, the dervishes being reborn, a master reciting parts of the Quran, and some other things I still can't wrap my head around. I suggest doing a nice little Google search to read more and see some videos.
When the ceremony was over I looked towards my mom. She tried to stifle her laughter as she expressed her opinion on the show. Trying to be respectful she whispered her opinion while I recorded her and tears of laughter snuck out. It may have been the lack of sleep for days that caused the reaction or the fact we went into the ceremony thinking it was an entertaining show. Either way it was definitely a night we will never forget. Even writing about the "what in the world did we just watch" show has me cracking up once more.
Arriving back at the town we went out to eat and bought a local bottle of wine to commemorate our "special" evening. Let's just say we had a fun night shopping after that. My mom referred to the dinner and shopping as Post Dervish Therapy.
No comments:
Post a Comment