Konya
On the Silk Road there is evidence of a history dating back over 2,000 years. Between the coast and Cappadocia remain some recent thrilling signs of the past: the Sultanhani caravanserai, for example, where you can almost still see traces of past traders and, above all, a hotbed of mysticism, Konya. For the whirling dervishes, a Sufi Muslim order founded in Konya in the thirteenth century, the essential condition of life is to whirl.
According to this belief, our universe is made of cycle and of rotation, from the smallest atom to every living thing, and it is in this movement, this dance called “sema”, that the Whirling Dervishes overcome their ego to raise themselves with love until they dissolve in God. A man of science, Mevlana Rumi Celaleddîn, is at the origin of this order, although he is not the founder. For the father of Whirling Dervishes this practice was personal and solitary. His son, Sultan Veled, spread his teachings and even today the followers of this doctrine meet weekly for practice.
Mevlana and his son rest in peace in Konya, in a former abbey of the order turned into a museum and place of pilgrimage. The curious and mystics may be lucky enough in Cappadocia to admire the ceremony of Semâ. Some people will find it pleasant, some not. Some people will share, for a short time, the state of trance and they will believe, too, that they can dissolve in God. Others will wonder why they came. People may or may not feel the mystical nature of this ritual but none will remain indifferent.
Author: Vanessa Marcie
