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Description
Location: Istanbul Turkey Turkiye

Istanbul has changed over nearly the two decades, I have been visiting. The Sema - The whirling dervishes mystical Sufi ceremony in which their series of mesmerizing turns help them, reach a state of nirvana. Was a very sacred ceremony and is was not easy to be able to get to observe this ceremony, and attendees were strictly maintain the decorum and exhibit due respect.

Jalaluddin Rumi, the famous Sufi Muslim mystic and poet, in the 13th century told his followers, “There are many roads which lead to God. I have chosen the one of dance and music.” He would fast, mediate and then dance to reach a state of unparalleled enlightenment.

In the symbolism of the Sema ritual, the semazen's camel's hair hat (sikke) represents the tombstone of the ego; his wide, white skirt (tennure) represents the ego's shroud. By removing his black cloak (hırka), he is spiritually reborn to the truth. At the beginning of the Sema, by holding his arms crosswise, the semazen appears to represent the number one, thus testifying to god's unity. While whirling, his arms are open: his right arm is directed to the sky, ready to receive god's beneficence; his left hand, upon which his eyes are fastened, is turned toward the earth. The semazen conveys god's spiritual gift to those who are witnessing the Sema. Revolving from right to left around the heart, the semazen embraces all humanity with love. The human being has been created with love in order to love. Rumi says, "All loves are a bridge to Divine love. Yet, those who have not had a taste of it do not know!"

In 1925, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey’s first president, closed all the orders and hermitages of The Sufi Orders as part of his secularization policies.

Although the government eased its regulations in the 1990s to allow dervishes to perform ritualistic ceremonies, The ceremonies started to become more commercialized critics contended that irreparable damage to Turkey’s cultural jewel had been done.

When I saw the Sema being performed by a solitary street artist .. I fully realized just how much this fulcrum of spirituality has been eroded.

Description
Location: Istanbul Turkey Turkiye

Istanbul has changed over nearly the two decades, I have been visiting. The Sema - The whirling dervishes mystical Sufi ceremony in which their series of mesmerizing turns help them, reach a state of nirvana. Was a very sacred ceremony and is was not easy to be able to get to observe this ceremony, and attendees were strictly maintain the decorum and exhibit due respect.

Jalaluddin Rumi, the famous Sufi Muslim mystic and poet, in the 13th century told his followers, “There are many roads which lead to God. I have chosen the one of dance and music.” He would fast, mediate and then dance to reach a state of unparalleled enlightenment.

In the symbolism of the Sema ritual, the semazen's camel's hair hat (sikke) represents the tombstone of the ego; his wide, white skirt (tennure) represents the ego's shroud. By removing his black cloak (hırka), he is spiritually reborn to the truth. At the beginning of the Sema, by holding his arms crosswise, the semazen appears to represent the number one, thus testifying to god's unity. While whirling, his arms are open: his right arm is directed to the sky, ready to receive god's beneficence; his left hand, upon which his eyes are fastened, is turned toward the earth. The semazen conveys god's spiritual gift to those who are witnessing the Sema. Revolving from right to left around the heart, the semazen embraces all humanity with love. The human being has been created with love in order to love. Rumi says, "All loves are a bridge to Divine love. Yet, those who have not had a taste of it do not know!"

In 1925, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey’s first president, closed all the orders and hermitages of The Sufi Orders as part of his secularization policies.

Although the government eased its regulations in the 1990s to allow dervishes to perform ritualistic ceremonies, The ceremonies started to become more commercialized critics contended that irreparable damage to Turkey’s cultural jewel had been done.

When I saw the Sema being performed by a solitary street artist .. I fully realized just how much this fulcrum of spirituality has been eroded.