Sufi Dance! The Whirling Dervishes

This centuries-old tradition has survived many iterations of the Turkish state and celebrates the 'union with God' of Sufi mystic Jalaladdin Rumi. Each year, thousands of people travel to the Turkish city of Konya to attend a weeklong series of events and ceremonies that mark the death of the 13th-century Islamic poet, scholar and Sufi mystic Jalaladdin Rumi. Instead of mourning his death, however, the ceremonies celebrate what his followers believe is his union with God.