Whirling Dervishes and/or Shows in Turkey

[Bet & Peg]

We'll be in Istanbul 4 days post-cruise this September.

Has anyone been to a performance of the Whirling Dervishes?

I've had difficulty finding any information about their performances.

 

Has anyone experienced an evening show of any kind in Istanbul??

 

Thanks much for any information you can share!!

[TheBestIsYetToCome]

Friends of mine are in Istanbul on a land vacation now and were able to see a performance by a dervish when they had dinner at Cafe Mesale:

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293974-d697990-Reviews-Mesale_Restaurant-Istanbul.html

 

This isn't their photo but it's at the same location:

[Dunmore2]

We went to a great evening show with dinner at the Galata Tower. I booked a table for 2 by emailing the tower. When our cruise table companions found out that we were going, they MADE me send another email asking for a bigger table. No problem. 8 of us took two taxis to the tower, beautiful views. We all enjoyed the meal and the show. It is not a big place, so most of the seats are good for seeing the stage. There were a few different belly dancers, singing, knife dancing ( very cool). The mc was hilarious and we laughed a lot.

The menu was a salad, appetizers, beef, chicken or lamb as a main dish, and a dessert. A glass of wine or beer was included.

We would highly recommend.

[ksps cruise fan]

Whirling is a form of religious worship performed by a specific religious group. If you want to see an authentic performance, go to the web site turkeytravelplanner.com and follow the links until you arrive at the "Whirling Dervishes in Istanbul" page. You'll see several suggestions. Perhaps one of these suggestions will work for your schedule or location.

 

FWIW, the site says that the Hodja Pasha Art and Culture Center near Sirkeci Station is the easiest way to see one of the performances.

 

You might also do a search on the word "sema" which is the word that the religious groups themselves would use for the experience.

[CoralReef]

We went to this show:

http://www.dancesofcolours.com/

 

Through a scheduling miscommunication, we thought they were doing a belly dance show that night, but it turned out to be the whirling dervishes. Much more authentic than we were expecting! The music was excellent, and we really enjoyed the whole experience.

[Bet & Peg]

Thank You all SO very, very much!! I will share all the information on our Roll Call and I'm sure many will benefit form it!

 

I have been using Turkey Travel Planner and found it a big, big help! Somehow I either missed the page about the Dervishes or it got lost in the maze!

 

Thank you again! Cruise Critic always comes through!!!!

[ksps cruise fan]

Thank You all SO very, very much!! I will share all the information on our Roll Call and I'm sure many will benefit form it!

 

I have been using Turkey Travel Planner and found it a big, big help! Somehow I either missed the page about the Dervishes or it got lost in the maze!

 

Thank you again! Cruise Critic always comes through!!!!

 

The easiest way to get to the right page is go to the home page and scan down until you see the words "SITE INDEX" near the bottom. Click on that an you'll bring up an alphabetical list. Scan down the list until you see "Whirling Dervishes." That word/link takes you right to the page you'll need.

 

The way I got to this page the first time was indeed a maze!

[cruisin'tex]

We went to a great evening show with dinner at the Galata Tower. I booked a table for 2 by emailing the tower. When our cruise table companions found out that we were going, they MADE me send another email asking for a bigger table. No problem. 8 of us took two taxis to the tower, beautiful views. We all enjoyed the meal and the show. It is not a big place, so most of the seats are good for seeing the stage. There were a few different belly dancers, singing, knife dancing ( very cool). The mc was hilarious and we laughed a lot.

The menu was a salad, appetizers, beef, chicken or lamb as a main dish, and a dessert. A glass of wine or beer was included.

We would highly recommend.

 

Accidentally came across your post while searching Istanbul. Will be docked there for 2 overnights so will probably check this out...thanks...

[cruisemom42]

Whirling is a form of religious worship performed by a specific religious group. If you want to see an authentic performance, go to the web site turkeytravelplanner.com and follow the links until you arrive at the "Whirling Dervishes in Istanbul" page. You'll see several suggestions. Perhaps one of these suggestions will work for your schedule or location.

 

FWIW, the site says that the Hodja Pasha Art and Culture Center near Sirkeci Station is the easiest way to see one of the performances.

 

You might also do a search on the word "sema" which is the word that the religious groups themselves would use for the experience.

 

 

I agree that the authentic experience of seeing the dervishes is more of a religious experience and not a show.

 

I saw a sema when I was in Cappadocia. Spectators had to remain quiet, no food or drinking, no photos. From the comments I heard afterwards, some found it a bit of a snore fest. I thought it was fascinating.....