Sufi Dance! The Whirling Dervishes

In 2008, UNESCO confirmed “The Mevlevi Sema Ceremony” as amongst the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Approximately 750 years old, the Mevlevi Order is a living tradition based on the teachings of Rumi, also known as Mevlana, who is perhaps Turkey’s most celebrated poet and in Iran, second only to Hafiz. He is also venerated as a divine mystic within Sufi Islam. Rumi’s friend and spiritual mentor, Shams of Tabriz, is also revered within the order and within Sufism more widely.