Sign up for City Lights, our twice-weekly guide to arts and nightlife in the D.C. area. It lands in your inbox every Sunday and Thursday. I don’t know much about ...

It was in a carpet shop deep in the Istanbul bazaar that I first realised there was something of a phenomenon happening around Jallaludin Rumi, the 13th century Islamic mystic poet and founder of the ...

Whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi order perform during a Sheb-i Arus ceremony at Kasimpasa Mevlevihane in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, to commemorate the death of 13th century Islamic ...

I’ve always wanted to see whirling dervishes perform the mystical Sufi ceremony known as a sema, in which their series of mesmerizing turns help them, and the audience, reach a state of nirvana. But ...

Appearing in tourism promotion films and at Eurovision song contests, their distinctive circular dancing has never been more widely publicised. Some say what has been happening of late is a sign of a ...

The Grand Bazaar is not only a center of attraction for sightseeing travelers, but stands as a merchant favorite, where locals can buy for the best prices around on textiles and other goods.

Managing Editor Scott Stuckey has just returned from Turkey and got an insider’s look at Istanbul’s famous Whirling Dervishes. I first heard the term “Whirling Dervishes” as a young child and, ...