Whirling Dervishes!!!

On the night of December 16th, I boarded a bus with the other Samsunites to go to Ankara. We had really been looking forward to the trip because we would be going to Konya, stopping in Ankara on the way, but we were dreading the bus ride; we would take a bus back to Samsun the next night, therefore we wouldn’t be in Ankara/Konya for even 24 hours. We went to Konya to see a special part of the Mevlana Festival that happens once a year with Whirling Dervishes called Sema. Whirling Dervishes are known all around the world and the event that we went to is exclusive because it is so expensive, but luckily AFS paid for it and we were able to attend :). The festival itself was amazing! It is incredible how the men spin for several minutes and then are just able to stop without being dizzy, or that is how it appears. I like to believe that it is almost like a meditation type activity where they are concentrating, but are very relaxed at the same time. There was a band that played many traditional Turkish instruments and sang Turkish songs. Pictures are below:

I do want to say that I thought of my cousin Maura the whole time I was there because she did a study on the spinning and hopefully I will be able to put up a video soon, or at least on facebook! <3