Whirling Dervishes

The dervishes are part of Muslim mysticism (Arabic mysticism known as Sufi) an unusual practice, specifically a sacred dance consisting of turning (sometimes for hours) until you fall into a trance, unite with the divine, mergewith the whole. Turning symbolises the orbits of the stars, repeating, "living" movements "inhabitants" of the sky, on one hand the old practice of sympathetic magic which has continued for time immemorial among mankind, and on the other the sacred dance is one of the foundations of shamanic view of life, of primal human religion. We attended this show by chance. Walking down the Istiklal Caddesi we saw many foreigners walking fast as if they had a destination in mind.