Whirling Dervishes, Sufis dancing, Istanbul, Turkey, Europe

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

Whirling Dervishes at the Mevlana Culture Centre, Konya, Central Anatolia, Turkey, Asia Minor, Eurasia

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

The Mevlevi, (Whirling Dervishes) performing the Sufi dance, Istanbul, Turkey, Europe

The Mevlevi, (Whirling Dervishes) performing the Sema (ceremony), Istanbul, Turkey, Europe

The Mevlevi, (Whirling Dervishes) performing the Sema (ceremony), Istanbul, Turkey, Europe

Horse and cart passes the Mevlana Tekke Museum with its green tower and minaret, formerly the monastery, or tekke, of the Whirling Dervishes, at Konya, Anatolia, Turkey, Asia Minor, Eurasia

Whirling dervishes, Istanbul, Marmara province, Turkey, Europe

Taken at the Royal Albert Hall, London, the Whirling Dervishes of Konya, Turkey, Asia Minor, Eurasia

Whirling dervishes, dancer in trance at Sufi ceremony, Omdurman, Sudan, Africa

Whirling dervishes, dancer in trance at Sufi ceremony, Omdurman, Sudan, Africa

Whirling dervishes, dancer at Sufi ceremony, Omdurman, Sudan, Africa

Whirling dervishes, high priest at Sufi ceremony, Omdurman, Sudan, Africa

Whirling Dervishes at the Dervishes Festival, Konya, Central Anatolia, Turkey, Asia Minor, Eurasia

Whirling Dervishes at the Dervishes Festival, Konya, Central Anatolia, Turkey, Asia Minor, Eurasia

Whirling Dervishes at the Dervishes Festival, Konya, Central Anatolia, Turkey, Asia Minor, Eurasia

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

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

Whirling Dervishes at the Dervishes Festival, Konya, Central Anatolia, Turkey, Asia Minor, Eurasia

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

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

Whirling dervishes at Uskudar's convent, Istanbul, Turkey, Europe

Whirling Dervishes at the Dervishes Festival, Konya, Central Anatolia, Turkey, Asia Minor, Eurasia

Whirling dervish's cemetery, Istanbul, Turkey, Europe

Whirling dervishes, official at Sufi ceremony, Omdurman, Sudan, Africa

Whirling dervishes at Uskudar's convent, Istanbul, Turkey, Europe

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

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

Whirling dervish's tombstone, Istanbul, Turkey, Europe

Whirling dervishes, dancer at Sufi ceremony, Omdurman, Sudan, Africa

Ceremony of the Whirling Dervishes, founded in Konya by Mevalana Celaleddin Rumi, Istanbul, Turkey, Europe

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

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

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

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

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

Whirling Dervishes perform traditional dance Istanbul, Turkey.

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.

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.

Whirling Dervishes: Men twirl in long whit robes as a part of a traditional Turkish Sema (ceremony).

Whirling Dervishes: Men twirl in long whit robes as a part of a traditional Turkish Sema (ceremony).