Turkish whirling dervishes in Istanbul: the most authentic in town

Turkish dervish gatherings are one of the cultural attractions of Turkey. It can be found both in the city of Istanbul and on the Anatolian peninsula. I tell you where you can find this practice of Islam close to meditation.

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What is Turkish Sufism?

Sufism is a form of Islamic mysticism that was born in Khorasan, in the current state of Afghanistan. The Turkic peoples who spread from Central Asia to Anatolia and India brought with them this mysticism, which evolved differently according to the religions with which they were in contact.

The founder of Turkish Sufism of the Mevlevi order is the poet Rumi (Yalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi). You may be familiar with his love poetry, but perhaps you did not know that the object of his desire was Allah and not a woman. Sufi practice aims at the union of the practitioner and the divinity into a single entity.

Islamic Sufism is related to Christian mysticism and to Indian practices of meditation and asceticism. In India, Indian Sufism has a quite different manifestation from the Turkish Mevlevi order.

Galata Mevlevi Lodge

The museum of the Mevlevi order is located in a former monastery recovered in the Beyoglu district. It is at the exit of Tunel and at the beginning of Istiqlal Avenue.

The monastery or hostel was a wooden house where Sufi practitioners resided. The museum can be visited every day and explains the beliefs, community life and also the material culture of the dervishes. It costs 25 liras.

Every Sunday before the pandemic, a demonstration of whirling dervishes was organized in the ceremonial hall of the monastery. At present, it is scheduled on a random basis, and you have to ask at the ticket office when it will be held and if there are places available. It is very difficult to find them for the same week, so it is useful to contact the museum by email before the trip.

Hodjapasha Cultural Centre

It is among the most serious in terms of organizing a semahane. The ceremony space is an old hammam in the middle of Sirkeci, so it has the architectural charm and is straightforward to access.

It is the place they recommend from the Mehlevi Lodge Museum, when they have no availability, since the organizers of the museum and Hodjapasha are the same group.

At Hodjapasha Cultural Centre, it is organized four times a week, always at 7 pm. Photography, video and applause are not allowed. Seating is strictly on a first-come, first-served basis. Seats 1 to 25 are the best, so it is advisable to make an online reservation for the Turkish dervishes. It can be purchased at the box office, only if there are seats available.

On some days, there is also an oriental dance demonstration, which has a separate ticket.

Historic monastery in Fatih

Before the pandemic, the people of Les Arts Turcs used to organize a ceremony in the premises of a real Sufi monastery. However, in 2020 it was discontinued.

Luckily, this tekke is back in a unique space, with authentic practitioners and also at an affordable price. It is one of the best Turkish dervish shows in Istanbul.

It is only scheduled on Thursdays. You can book directly on the Les Arts Turcs website at this link.

Tourist bars and restaurants

Many tourist restaurants have a performance by Turkish whirling dervishes. Most commonly, there is only one dervish, whose dancing is interspersed with classical Ottoman music.

There are many restaurants that offer this service. The best known are:

• Café Mesale.It is one of the most famous restaurants in Sultanahmet. The food is not the best, but they have a space a bit secluded from the traffic to enjoy a hookah, dinner and the music and gyrations of the dervishes. It is at the entrance of the Arasta Bazaar.
• Café Dervish. Right next to the Turkish bath of Roxelana. It is an open courtyard especially pleasant in summer.

The advantage of these places for tourists is that they do not restrict the taking of photographs to the dervishes, whereas the previous encounters, focus more on appreciating the tekke ceremony.

In fact, all the photographs that I have of the Turkish Sufi twirling were taken in bars or restaurants in Istanbul.

When to see whirling dervishes in Istanbul

Any day you go on a trip to Istanbul, you can attend a demonstration of the Turkish Dervishes. Sufism is a practice that was banned in 1925, so there are very few active communities left. However, the practice has been revived as a Turkish folklore show.

• Every Sunday at the Galata Mevlevi Lodge Museum.
• Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at Hodjapasha Cultural Centre.
• Every day at the tourist cafés and restaurants in the Sultanahment area, such as Dervish café and Mesale café.
• Les Arts Turcs ceremony in Fatih is on Thursdays.

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS. This post contains some affiliate links.

These links allow you to follow my recommendations and book them, and provide a little commission. Thus, you help keep this travel blog ad-free at no extra cost to you.