The quick pass-through of Konya a couple of days ago was great! We visited the tomb of (Mawlana/Mevlana) Rumi and went to the cultural center to see the dervishes whirl. I must be careful not to say that it was a "performance." Apparently they told us not to clap because it was a religious practice and not a show for entertainment. Of course they told us in Turkish (I had to rely on my Turkish-Farsi translator-friend), which meant that like half of the group didn't understand and started clapping when the musicians and dervishes entered the stage. It was a really nice experience. It was basically only our group and a few other people in the audience and I remembered how last time I saw whirling dervishes it was with a packed crowd at the Kennedy Center in DC. I don't remember how much I paid for the tickets, but I think it was around $40-50, and they looked more like whirling ants!
The tomb of Mawlana Rumi was really nice too. The mosque had been turned into a museum and there were lots of great artifacts like some old diwans. It's interesting how everyone wants to claim Rumi. Does he belong to Afghanistan, Iran or Turkey!? None because nation-states didn't exist then. Everyone can have Rumi :)
Nevşehir details coming soon!
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