Whirling Dervish Ceremony in Göreme, Türkiye

The Persia-born Rumi who was living in Konya, then the capital of the Turkish Seljuk Empire told his followers: There are many roads which lead to God. I have chosen the one of dance and music. He would fast, mediate and then dance to reach a state of unparalleled enlightenment. Inspired, other sects started to spread his dance, called the sema, throughout the Ottoman Empire. The most renowned sect was the Mevlevi order; dance participants were called semazen. By the 15th century, the order had established rules for the ritual to maintain its myriad traditions.