Daytrips to watch Whirling Dervishes

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

Now many people are researching, writing, and traveling to learn more about the Whirling Dervishes.

Konya attracts tourists because it is the city where Rumi is buried. As tour operators are looking for ways to promote cities and earn money, they have started organizing one-day tours to Konya for those who want to see the Whirling Dervishes. Konya Mayor Tahir Akyürek said tour operators bring tourists from many cities for the Whirling Dervish shows, which are organized on Saturdays.

Akyürek said the shows that take place in the Mevlana Culture Center are free of charge and very popular. Once the demand increased more tour operators addressed themselves for the task.

"The visitors coming from around Turkey bring briskness to the city’s social, cultural and economic life," said Akyürek. "Also, the tourists put a smile on the tradesmen’s faces."

Noting that Konya is becoming a magnet for tourism, he said, "People travel from Balıkesir, Niğde, Kayseri, Antalya and Istanbul mostly. Sometimes people form a group and hire a tour operator to take them to Konya, while some of them gather and rent a bus to drive themselves to see the Whirling Dervishes." Although there is also a Mevlevi monastery in Istanbul’s Galata district, where people watch the performances of Dervishes, there are many people who want to travel to Konya, where Rumi lived and wrote poems, letters and influenced mankind and cultures throughout the years.