Whirling Dervishes

Depart from the hotel to watch the ceremony of the Whirling Dervishes, called Sema. The Sema ceremony is a mystical journey of man's spiritual ascent through mind and love to the Perfect. The Mevlevi Order, a Sufi order founded in Konya, was established by the followers of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, a 13th century Islamic poet and theologian. They are known as the Whirling Dervishes due to their famous practice of whirling as a form of dhikr — remembrance of God. The participants are properly known as semazens.

Turning towards the truth, the follower grows through love, deserts his ego, finds the truth and arrives at the Perfect. He then returns from this spiritual journey as a man who has reached maturity and greater perfection, able to love and to be of service to the whole of creation. Mevlana said of the Sema: "Come, come, whoever you are, wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Even if you have broken your vows a thousand times, it doesn't matter. Come, come yet again, come."

The Hodjapasha Culture Center is located in the historical peninsula of Istanbul and was converted in 2008 from a 550-year-old Turkish bath called Hocapaşa Hamamı, originally built by Hoca Sinan Pasha, teacher and later vizier to Fatih Sultan Mehmet in the 1470s. The centre has an exhibition and foyer area and a performance area with a circular glass dance floor, a musicians' stage and seating for 220 guests. Perfect lighting and beautiful decoration turn this historical building into a mystical place.