Drevish mystic dance at the Sirkeci station, Istanbul, Turkey, Asia Minor, Eurasia

Dervish mystic dance at the Sirkeci station, Istanbul, Turkey, Asia Minor, Eurasia

Gravestones of Sufi Dervish tombs in the Turkish occupied section of Nicosia in Cyprus

Gravestones of Sufi Dervish tombs in the Turkish occupied section of Nicosia in Cyprus

Whirling dervishes, Istanbul, Marmara province, Turkey, Europe

Mevlana museum, Konya, Anatolia, Turkey, Asia Minor, Eurasia

Bektachi dervish reading Koran, Tirana, Albania, Europe

A 22-year old dervish, Myrteza Shehu, reading under a tree in Melani tekke, Vranishti, Girokastre, Albania, Europe

Detail of a Bektachi dervish's costume, Vranishti, Girokastre, Albania, Europe

Whirling dervish performance in Silvrikapi Meylana cultural center, Istanbul, Turkey, Europe

Whirling Dervish dance performance (Mevlevi Sema), a spiritual ceremony performed by whirling dervishes, Istanbul, Turkey, Eurasia

Tourists at Whirling Dervish ayin music performance (Mevlevi Sema) a spiritual ceremony performed by whirling dervishes, Istanbul, Turkey, Eurasia

Sufi music band and Whirling Dervish at Sufi Muslim wedding in St. Nicolas's Catholic church, Blois, Loir-et-Cher, France, Europe

Bektachi dervish, Tirana, Albania, Europe

A 22-year old dervish, Myrteza Shehu, in Melani tekke, Vranishti, Girokastre, Albania, Europe

Whirling dervish performance in Silvrikapi Meylana cultural center, Istanbul, Turkey, Europe

Dervish mystic dance at the Sirkeci station, Istanbul, Turkey, Eurasia

Whirling Dervish at gathering of Zen Buddhists and Muslim Sufis praying and celebrating together at the Salon Zen, Paris, France, Europe

Whirling dervish performance in Silvrikapi Meylana cultural center, Istanbul, Turkey, Europe

Whirling dervish's cemetery, Istanbul, Turkey, Europe

Dervish Mausoleum at the Shirvanshah Palace, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Baku, Azerbaijan, Central Asia, Asia

Whirling dervish's tombstone, Istanbul, Turkey, Europe

Minarets of the Dervish School, Mahan, Iran, Middle East

Whirling dervish, Al-Shuri Mausoleum, Cairo, Egypt, North Africa, Africa

Whirling dervish, Al-Shuri Mausoleum, Cairo, Egypt, North Africa, Africa

Mostar. Blagaj. Dervish house. The Book

Mevlevi Tekke, former dervish monastary, figures of dancing dervishes, whirling dervishes, museum, Lefkosia, Nicosia, Cyprus

Tomb of Guel Baba, Part of Tomb of Guel Baba, the father of roses, Buda, Budapest, Hungary

Dervish dancing at the folklore evening in Yasar Baba restaurant, Goereme, Cappadocia, Turkey

Dancers during a wedding, Sufi shrine, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia

Women, group picture during a wedding, Sufi shrine, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia

Mevl√¢na museum, with the blue domed mausoleum of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, the dervish lodge, tekke, of the Mevlevi order, Konya, Turkey

Men, group picture during a wedding, Sufi shrine, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia

Sheikh Medimir Niaz praying, during his wedding, Sufi shrine, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia

Dancing dervishes of the Sufi order Mevlevi, Sema ceremony, historic train station Sirkeci, Istanbul, Turkey

Kissing men, portrait during a wedding, Sufi shrine, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia

Sheikh Medimir Niazi, group picture during his wedding, Sufi shrine, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia

Ceremony of the dancing dervishes of the Sufi order Mevlevi, Sema ceremony, historic train station Sirkeci, Istanbul, Turkey

Dancing dervishes of the Sufi order Mevlevi, Sema ceremony, historic train station Sirkeci, Istanbul, Turkey

Female dancing dervish from the Sufi order Mevlevi, Sema ceremony, historic train station Sirkeci, Istanbul, Turkey

Whirling dervishes, Cappadocia, Turkey

Whirling dervishes, show, Cappadocia, Turkey, Asia

Whirling Dervishes of the Mevlevi Order, Sema ceremony, Saruhan Caravanserai, Sarihan, near Avanos, Cappadocia, Central Anatolia Region, Anatolia, Turkey, Asia

Sufi priest studying the holy Quran in the Shrine of Mawlana Abdur Rahman Jami, Herat's greatest 15th century poet, Herat, Afghanistan, Asia

Sufi priest studying the holy Quran in the Shrine of Mawlana Abdur Rahman Jami, Herat's greatest 15th century poet, Herat, Afghanistan, Asia

Sufi priest studying the holy Quran in the Shrine of Mawlana Abdur Rahman Jami, Herat's greatest 15th century poet, Herat, Afghanistan, Asia

Sufi priest studying the holy Quran in the Shrine of Mawlana Abdur Rahman Jami, Herat's greatest 15th century poet, Herat, Afghanistan, Asia

Wedding at a Sufi shrine, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia

Dancing dervishs, oriental meditatin dance

Dancing dervishs, oriental meditatin dance

Dancing dervishs, oriental meditatin dance

Mevlana Whirling Dervishes perform Sema, Sirkeci Central Train Station hall, Istanbul, Turkey, Europe

Whirling Darvishes Ceremony, Cappadocia, Turkey, Europe

Whirling Darvishes Ceremony, Cappadocia, Turkey, Europe

Mevlana Mausoleum, Konya, Turkey, Europe

Every Friday dervishes gather an hour before sunset in front of Sheikh Hamed al-Nil tomb in Omdurman, Sudan to perform a ritual called Zikr (Dhikr). The ceremony starts chanting words of gratitude to the Prophet Mohammed. The audience interacts with the chanters, dancing to the rhythms of the percussion instruments. The dervishes start whirling around. The music, the fragrance of burning incense, the endless repetition of religious chants creates a state of ecstasy, a kind of trance in which human soul is believed to communicate directly with God.

Interior of Dervish Monastery with Sarcophagi, Cappadocia, Anatolia, Turkey

Interior of Dervish Monastery with Sarcophagi, Cappadocia, Anatolia, Turkey