Whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi order

Overview

The Mevlevi οrder was founded in Konya by the followers of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, a 13th-century Iranian poet.

The Mevlevis perform their remembrance ritual, also known as sema, in the form of a dance, a musical ceremony which involves endless whirling. The sema represents the mystical journey of spiritual ascent towards the ideal through love, abandonment of the ego and turning towards the truth. The Sufi then returns from this spiritual journey having approached maturity, perfection and is able to love and to be of service to the whole of creation.