youtube Whirling Dervishes

My roommate went to Turkey this summer and saw the whirling dervishes so I looked into it a bit to see what it was. Turns out it is a traditional Turkish form of meditation. The whirling dervish whirl in a choreographed dance. Every movement is symbolic, music is played, and people watch. They whirl for hours and hours without stopping, getting dizzy, or taking a break from twirling. Many have their eyes closed yet the dance is still perfectly in rhythm. They wear long hats as well as a cloth shirt, jacket, skirt that flows out to a circle, pants, and black waistbands and shoes as well. The cloths can be different colors however the hats, shoes, and belts seem to all be related color wise.

Everything seems to be meaningful and intentional. The spinning and dance is pretty to watch, but I can't imagine how they don't get dizzy. I know that when they are spinning it is for meditation and religious Islamic ritual purposes, however they must be really concentrated to be able to do this for so long. Not only just for the length, but with their eyes closed. Their eyes are closed for most of the dance/meditation. I can't help but wonder how long it took the Dervish to learn all the lengthy dances well enough to do it with their eyes shut. That is pure dedication.

To my understanding, the Whirling Dervish are like monks in the way that they have chosen to live a life of poverty. They seem to be similar in more ways than that though as they both beg for money then give it away, and they both participate in long meditation sessions. The Whirling Dervish are really cool to watch and very interesting to learn about. They are very easy to look up on the Internet, yet seldom talked about unless someone has travelled to Europe and seen them. They are very interesting to look up and I encourage all too look them up! :)