Whirling Dervishes Show in a Historic Bathhouse with Exhibition

The Mevlevi Sema ceremony and the whirling dervishes

The Sema is the ceremony of the Mevlevi order, a Sufi brotherhood founded in Konya in the thirteenth century by the followers of a great mystic poet, and it has been performed for around eight hundred years. The dervishes wear a tall felt hat, a white skirt and a black cloak, each with a symbolic meaning; when the cloak is cast off they begin to turn, right palm open to the sky and left turned to the earth, in a slow whirl that represents the soul's journey towards God and back to serve creation.

The ceremony was inscribed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, and seeing the whirling dervishes in Istanbul is one of the most moving cultural experiences the city offers. This is a religious ceremony rather than a dance show: the audience sits in silence, there is no applause and no photography, and the atmosphere is contemplative from the first note of the ney to the final prayer.

A 550-year-old Ottoman bathhouse in Sirkeci and its exhibition

The venue is a historic Turkish bath built about five and a half centuries ago in the lanes of Sirkeci, between the old railway station and the top of Sultanahmet, and restored as a cultural centre. The ceremony takes place in the former hot room: a circular marble floor under a brick dome pierced with small star-shaped skylights, surrounded by raised seating, so every seat is close to the dervishes. The acoustics of the dome carry the ney and the voices without amplification.

Before the performance the foyer holds an exhibition on the dervishes, with the tall felt hats, white tennure skirts and cloaks, musical instruments and panels explaining the Mevlevi tradition. Arriving thirty minutes early gives you time to walk through it and to read the booklet, and seats are allocated in the order of booking, so early arrival also means a better view.

What happens during the hour: concert, chant and the four turns

The programme opens with a concert of classical Turkish music, usually ney, kudüm drums, kanun and voice. Then the dervishes and the sheikh enter and take their places on the red sheepskins, and a singer performs the na'at, a hymn in praise of the Prophet. A drumbeat marks the creation, a ney improvisation follows, and the dervishes make three slow circuits of the floor, bowing to one another as they pass the sheikh.

The whirling itself comes in four movements, each with its own meaning, from recognising God to the surrender of the self; between them the dervishes stop and stand in a line with arms folded. The ceremony closes with a recitation of the opening chapter of the Quran for the souls of the prophets, martyrs and believers, and a prayer for the country. The whole programme lasts about an hour, and most visitors leave quietly, still under its spell.

Sirkeci, the show times and the evening around it

Sirkeci is the district at the foot of the historic peninsula, famous for its old railway station, its small lokanta restaurants and its position between the Golden Horn and Sultanahmet. The bathhouse is a few minutes' walk from the Sirkeci and Gülhane T1 tram stops and about ten minutes on foot from Hagia Sophia, so the show fits naturally at the end of a day in the old city.

Our Istanbul team recommends the 19:00 performance after sunset, following an early dinner in Sirkeci or Sultanahmet, where every restaurant serves halal food; the 17:00 show suits families with older children and anyone with an evening Bosphorus cruise booked afterwards. The show runs on most evenings all year, and because it is held indoors under the dome it is a perfect plan for rainy or cold days in Istanbul.