Whirling dervish

Devotees of the poet Rumi founded the Mevlevi Order and the whirling dervish ceremony after his death. We visited Rumi’s shrine in Konya and a few days later came full circle and watched the meditation and prayer (a shortened version for tourists who are whirling dervishes themselves). In the ceremony, the right hand points up to receive blessings from heaven, and the left points down to pass them to earth. The tall hats symbolize tombstones, the white skirts a burial shroud, and the black cloaks the grave. They shed the cloak to symbolize rebirth. The spinning represents the planets orbiting the sun and the soul revolving toward God. It’s all a bit dizzying. They plant one foot and the other orbits at a dizzying speed. Their skirts form peaks and their tilted heads (how do the hats stay on?) have a calm focus. The ceremony ends with a call for peace and a cooling sip of “rose sherbet” made with rose petals and lemon juice. They learn using a tilting board with a pin that goes between the big toe and second toe.