"Watch out for the Whirling Dervishes
By Simon Bahceli
WITH Sufism being one of the fastest growing religious-philosophical cults in the West, the upcoming week-long festivities organised by the Rumi Institute in north Nicosia are likely to raise interest both locally and abroad.
Even those unfamiliar with Sufism, will have heard of the Whirling Dervishes. But their dancing is not simply an enchanting visual spectacle: it is steeped in culture, belief and tradition.
The Sufi tradition sprung from the Anatolian city of Konya - a city once the capital of the Selcuk and Ottoman Empires. Its leader and chief inspiration was the poet Jelaluddin Rumi (also known as Mevlana) who hailed originally from Afghanistan and spoke and wrote in Persian.
The week-long festivities are a celebration of Mevlana's death, which followers of the Mevlana refer to as the Shebu Arus or "wedding night"."
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