Mevlevi Order
The Whirling Dervishes (or those that are not just tourist entertainers) are more correctly called the Mevlevi Order. They are a Sufi order founded in Konya (then the capital of the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate), by the followers of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet and theologian.
Participants in a Sama Ceremony are called semazens and the whirling is a form of dhikr - a means of contemplating and focusing the senses on God. In 2005, UNESCO proclaimed the 'Mevlevi Sema Ceremony of Turkey' amongst the 'Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity'.
Mevlevi Order
The Whirling Dervishes (or those that are not just tourist entertainers) are more correctly called the Mevlevi Order. They are a Sufi order founded in Konya (then the capital of the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate), by the followers of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet and theologian.
Participants in a Sama Ceremony are called semazens and the whirling is a form of dhikr - a means of contemplating and focusing the senses on God. In 2005, UNESCO proclaimed the 'Mevlevi Sema Ceremony of Turkey' amongst the 'Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity'.