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The Whirling Dervishes
Posted by viw on April 28, 2013
The Whirling Dervishes of Cappadocia, Turkey - we had the opportunity to observe the Sema ceremony at Dervish House Cappadocia - in the town of NEVŞEHİR near Göreme. (Photos were allowed to be taken after the ceremony when the Whirling Dervishes returned to the stage to provide the visitors with a short demonstration).
The Mevlevi order (probably better known as the Whirling Dervishes) was founded by the Sufi mystic, Celaleddin Rumi (1207-1273), also called Mevlâna. He believed that music and dance represented a way to begin an ecstatic state of universal love and offered a means to free the individual from the stress and pains of daily life. Central to the practice of the dervishes is the whirling ceremony or sema. It consists of several stages, each with its own meaning. The central theme of the mystical cycle of the sema is love - symbolizing the sharing of God’s love among earthly beings.
The dervishes extend their arms, to allow divine energy to enter the right palm, move through the body, and pass through the left palm into the earth. They move from right to left, pivoting around the heart. Whirling is the climax of the sema. The sema consists of seven parts - the first three are prayers, greetings and musical improvizations. Then the ritual moves into the fifth stage consisting of four selams or salutes - truth through knowledge, the splendour of creation, total submission before God and coming to terms with destiny. The sixth part is a reading from the Quran. The Sema ceremony ends with a prayer for peace.
The clothing worn for the sema has symbolic meaning. The conical headdress symbolizes the tomb of the ego and the wide white skirt symbolizes the ego’s shroud.
We also came across this cutest puppy - as content as can be!
Time to say goodbye to this adorable dog and this gracious roadside vendor and move on to more sightseeing!
More fairy chimneys dot the landscape. A friend hikes up to get a closer look.
No wonder this place is called Imagination Valley - if you take the time to hike this region, you will spot such natural formations such as an alligator, praying Mary, seals, dancers, a couple kissing, and a cobra. A friend takes a closer look (
The camel rock formation - now fenced off so visitors don’t attempt to climb up on it!
We took some time to hike through this valley - great views and amazing cave ruins. Took the path on the left and hiked towards the back of this valley, crossed over and returned along the path on the right.
Throughout this region, you will also find tiny niches (dovecotes) carved into the tufa. It is believed that these were carved out for pigeons to perch on. Pigeons were very important to the inhabitants here for various reasons - communication (carrier pigeons), for their eggs (said to fix frescoes on cave walls using the egg whites) and for their dung (said to be collected as a natural fertilizer for use in their agricultural crops. (note the tiny niches carved in the rock on the right-hand side of photo).
and here.
Another church carved out in this pink limestone - have a closer look at the details in the next few photos.
Near the end of this valley looking back towards the entrance to this fantastic open air museum.
View from a great vantage point - looking back towards the entrance of this valley.
Enjoyed our time here - there was much more to see but we were on a tight time schedule and could not linger longer here. If you have the chance, take at least 2-3 hours to hike around here to see it all.
A path leading to the central part of this vast outdoor museum!
Carved out rock that once was home to hundreds of Christians and Muslims.
Steps leading up to carved out buildilngs.
Off to visit the church and mill located in the 
Seten (Mill) - a rock-cut mill for grinding the grains which was in use until the 1950’s. 
The Fish and Grape Church located near the Mill. Gorgeous cave paintings still exist.
The religious paintings and carvings inside the Fish and Grape Church.
Looks like moonscapes to me!
More interesting rock formations - this was just the beginning of spectacular scenery to come!
Nearing the Zelve Open Air Museum - looking forward to this visit and wondering what an open air museum is all about!
I just loved this painted sign for this business - perhaps a machine shop of some type? Er Demir translates to hand iron - I think.
Leaving 
Özkonak Underground City - sign at entrance, description and map of the underground city.
A look at some of the rooms that are carved out of the soft tufa (a type of limestone).
A closer look at the rolling limestone doors. Above the tunnels are micro-tunnels carved in the stone which allowed the inhabitants to pour hot oil on the invaders as them descended through the tunnels. Large rolling doors carved out of the limestone blocked tunnel entrances trapping the invadors with no place to go. Stones would then be placed on the ground to keep the stone doorway in place, unable to be budged.
Looking up through a ventilation airshaft and source of some light in the underground city. I found it easy to breathe in the tunnels - I didn’t find it damp nor musty in this underground city.
A small niche carved in the stone (with a drain on the lower right-hand side).
A corridor leading to the rest of the underground city.
tracey – Apr. 20, 2013 at 6 p.m.
Vi – Apr. 21, 2013 at 8:03 a.m.