Sema (Whirling dervish ceremony)
Mevlana Cultural Centre
About
Sema (Whirling dervish ceremony), Mevlana Cultural Centre (around 20 minutes walk from the Mevlana Museum, down the same road, away from the centre. The building is on the right side — a big, modern white building with a pyramide roof). Highly recommended! A free sema (whirling dervish ceremony) is held at the Mevlana Cultural Centre every Saturday at 8PM, as of Oct 2011, taking one and a half hours. You don't need to arrange tickets in advance, but you might want to ask at the Tourist Information centre right behind the Mevlana Museum in case there have been changes. The hall is very big so there will probably be free seats but it is recommended to arrive a bit earlier to allow time for luggage screening and a cup of tea. A lecturer from the local university gives an OK lecture about Mevlana in English at 7PM just before the ceremony. The ceremony begins with a long introduction in Turkish before the actual music and ceremony start. People say this is the closest you can get to a real sema. No flash photography or applauding during the ceremony (so as not to disturb the dervishes). Free.
