As this was a religious ceremony to which we were fortunate enough to be invited, out of respect we preferred to be as discreet as possible and not to take pictures. The photos in the article are from the center’s website. As not all tourists have the same delicacy, you can find photos on Google Images and even videos on Youtube.

If you would like to see a touring dervish show that is more “touristic” than the experience described below, you can book a tour on the Viator website.

If the whirling dervishes are famous, I must say that before I found out, I didn’t really know what they were. Whirling dervishes are members of a Sufi Muslim order founded in the 13th century.

The whirling dervishes participate in a ceremony on behalf of Samā’ which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008.

In the tourist areas of Istanbul, you will see many agencies offering you to attend such a ceremony. After some research on the internet, it turns out that there are 3 or 4 places to attend and that they usually do not have much authenticity and are organized for tourists. I learn that the most authentic ceremonies take place at the Silivrikapi cultural center. Contrary to other places, no reservation is possible, you have to go there unexpectedly. The ceremonies take place every Thursday evening at 7:30 pm.

The center has a website: https: //www.emav.org/en

Part 1: Travel Diary
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Diary

Arrival on site

The center(Silivrikapi Mevlana Kultur Merkezi) is located in the Fatih district of Istanbul. It takes us about 45 minutes by streetcar and then on foot to get there.

We are clearly not in the tourist Istanbul. We arrive in a popular district and we borrow dark alleys. Having found very little information on the internet, I worry a little by the way by wondering if this place still exists.



Finally, we arrive in front of a gate that looks like a private property. We wonder if we can enter. There is animation and a person kindly beckons us to enter. A woman speaking English comes to meet us and welcomes us warmly. She explains to us that we are here as at home, that the ceremony begins at 7:30 pm with the diffusion of a video of approximately one hour, in Turkish only. She proposes us, if we wish, to come back later at 9 pm for the “show” of the whirling dervishes. As we are here to attend the most authentic moment possible, we are also ready for the video 🙂

The woman explains to us that a participation of 50 TL per person is requested from the visitors.

Once paid, we take off our shoes and enter the room. It is a relatively large room. Plastic chairs form a large arc in the middle of which are carpets. The faithful sit on the carpets, women on one side, men on the other. While the chairs seem to be reserved for the elderly… and visitors.

We arrived early so we see the faithful arriving as they go along. There is great kindness in the hall and people seem very happy to meet each other.

At the moment the ceremony starts, we are only 3 “tourists” present in the room. When the video is launched, Anh sees the duration of the video: 1h50. If we hope that the entirety isn’t going to be diffused, we feel that we will have to be patient.

The video

Finally, the video will be broadcasted in its entirety 😀 Let’s be honest, 1h50 of video in which we don’t understand a word, it’s long. Very long. Very very long.

In this video we see an old man talking. First in a long monologue and then in a question and answer session. We quickly notice that when the video was shot, the man was placed where the television is today. Next to him, we see a few people who are present in the room.

After some research, I was able to identify this man: it isHasan Dede. I imagine that if you look at him on a video now it means that he may not be there anymore but I have not been able to verify it.



In 1h50, we had time to observe people and see amazing things. Already, I am impressed by the level of attention of the congregation who did not take their eyes off television. At times we see them concentrated, at other times we see them laughing heartily. Other moments are more moving and some are crying tears.

The man in question seems to be the object of deep adoration. Some devotees take pictures (of the television!), a young man even films the screen when we see him on the video next to the old man. I even saw a woman whose smartphone wallpaper was a picture of the old man.

To be honest, it’s a bit creepy, the codes of a cult are there. But there is such an atmosphere of love, serenity and benevolence!

After about 1h30 of video, about twenty tourists enter the room, armed with cameras, gopro and other selfie poles … what a shame to break the atmosphere of the place. Some did not even bother to take off their caps… I would learn later by searching on the internet that tours also offer to attend this ceremony (for 2.5 times more expensive), which explains this sudden and massive arrival.

So clearly, we got bored during the broadcast of the video, we’re glad we respected the ceremony and didn’t come as mere consumers.

First part of the ceremony

After the video is played, the faithful kneel and form a tight circle. There are readings, songs accompanied by percussion and the ney, a reed flute. It’s very nice.

Again, everyone is very concentrated and I watch the women take out tissues from their pockets.

Then a young man stands in the center of the circle and begins to turn around, eyes closed, with so much grace that one thought he was going to rise into the sky. At that moment, the faithful begin to shout, in their hearts, continuously, “Allah, Allah, Allah,” with their eyes closed, while knocking on the ground.

They go into a trance-like state, sweating for some, crying for others, it’s very impressive! There was such energy in the room that even Anh was very moved and cried out in tears without knowing why.

It went on for long minutes, so long that I thought they were waiting for the young man to pass out.

This is finally not the case and this first part of the ceremony is interrupted.

Lunch break

Small break during which our guests offer us food and drink. It’s simple but good. During this break, they remove the carpets from the center of the room to make room for the parquet floor.

The sama

This is the moment of the sama, the famous dervish swirl allowing to enter in communion with the divine.

Some of the faithful took their place on the mezzanine to play instruments. They wear the characteristic camel hair hat.

Then other worshippers enter the room, in addition to the hat they wear a long black coat.

After a slow procession, they take off their coats and reveal a white robe and begin to whirl around with their eyes closed.



Being far from being a specialist of the ceremony and its meaning, I invite you to consult the Wikipedia article for more information.

Being always on our chair, we always have a front row seat since we will even be touched by the dress of the dervishes.



I think the sama lasted 15 / 20 minutes, it was a bewitching show.

Even if it was very long (we left at 11pm), we were very touched by this ceremony and were very sensitive to the welcome we received.

Part 2: Practical Tips

How to attend the Whirling Dervishes Ceremony in Istanbul?

• To get there, it’s very simple, open Google Maps and type Silivrikapı Mevlana Culture Center
• You can go there by public transport or take a cab, about 20-30TL from Sultanahmet
• The ceremony takes place every Thursday evening. It starts at 7:30 pm with the Question and Answer session (I don’t know if we see a video every Thursday or someone preaches for an hour). This is followed by the “allah allah” in a circle for about 15 minutes. Then a light dinner. Then the whirling dervishes arrive.
• I think that if you want to skip the FAQ part in Turkish, come around 8:45 pm, you will be able to have a bite to eat and see the dervishes
• The participation is 50TL/person minimum (in cash), but you are free to give more to the association
• Women don’t have to cover up
• Take a vest or scarf because it’s a little cold in the room
• The Turks are very nice at the base, but the people we met here are even nicer, very peace and love, respectful and concerned about everyone’s well-being: among themselves and also towards the tourists. Even if they never asked us not to film/take pictures, there is still a big sign at the entrance “turn off your phone”. This is first and foremost a religious ceremony, so try to be respectful as well.
• For more touristic ceremonies :

  • the Viator website offers several tours : click here
  • There is a ceremony every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday night with Civitatis, book here