Day 2 - Sultanahmet and Whirling Dervishes

On Day 2 we got up at 7 to make sure we showed up at the Aya Sophia at 9 since Julee liked to be the first arriving to beat the crowd. We soon knew it was worth it because on Saturdays, not only were there tourists, the locals came out to enjoy the Spring too. We then went to the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome, the underground Cistern, took the tram to the spice market and crossed the Galata Bridge to go to Beyoglu, the modern part of town.

After spotting the stuffed mussels outside this fancy grocery/eatery across the bridge, we sat down to have our second lunch, which included also marinated octopus, and Turkish tea. The after lunch stroll under the Galata Bridge where restaurants and cafes were built to fully utilize the space led us to a nargile and coffee house. I ordered apple flavored water pipe and watched the ferries plying the waters of Bosphorus. Above the bridge, locals were fishing. Dozens of fish lines draped from the bridge in front of our eyes, the silver string shining in the air, some were moving up with struggling sardines freshly caught.

We had Saturday evening planned to see a ceremony at the Sirkeci Train Station Hall after a day in Sultanahmet.The Mevlevi Order are a Sufi order founded by the followers of Jalal ad-din Muhammad Balkhi Rumi, in the 13th century in Konya, Turkey. They are known as the Whirling Dervishes due to their practice of trance-style dancing in honor of Allah.

We arrived at the train station 15 minutes earlier. One quick fact about Sirkeci Station - this is where the Oriental Express originates. The performance started with Sufi live concert for 20 minutes then the six Dervishes appeared with hands crossed on their chests. Three were women and three were men. They were cloaked in black and had tall brown hats on. The ceremony started with the music in the background, slow at first as the Dervishes sat down and bowed in one line. Then three on each side, they stood up and bowed to each other and started forming a circle and walked slowly counterclockwise. As the music got faster, they took off their cloak and started swirling, moving faster by the minute. Their eyes were closed, heads tilted to the right side, right hand pointed upward greeting the god, and left hand face down to the earth. The girl in orange gown was the one in the center and she was the fastest of all. When she turned, her gown flew like a spiral. She used her left foot as an axle, and tapped her right foot effortlessly on the ground every half a second so her body would turn about 270 degrees until the next tap on the right foot for the next turn. The other five Dervishes swirled around the girl. The men were in white, the women in pink and yellow. They each turned in their own area for about ten minutes non-stop with eyes shut and looking drugged. There was no moving out of the zone. After ten minutes, they still looked the same way as if time froze. I felt the wind at my feet because the closest Dervish to Julee and me was just a foot away. His eyes were almost half open but he looked like he was sleep dancing.

I stared at the girl in orange and timed her. We decided that she was turning each circle in less than a second, which meant she had already turned at least 600 times without throwing herself out of the circle and collapsing on the floor. Julee was video taping the ceremony while I attempted to focus on the girl's feet. Both of us felt dizzy after about a minute. The entire ceremony consisted three tiny half minute breaks when the Dervishes would stop twirling to form a line again, cross their hands on the chest and bow (all with eyes shut), and form a circle again and here we go again. After thirty minutes of watching, I could no longer take it. I felt that I was going to be hypnotized the next second. It was truly intriguing and weird the same time. I could not figure out how the Dervishes could twirl like this for such a long time.

After the show, we ate yet again since food was everywhere and shop owners would come out to invite us in any time in the day. Adana kebeb and hot soups in a tiny shop near the train station warmed us up before the night ended. I bought baklava for dessert to take back to the hotel.