Long description

This is a photo of whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi Order in Cappadocia in Turkey. They are dancing in the Sema ceremony in Saruhan Caravanserai. The dervishes are all male. They are dressed in white robes with black cummerbunds around their waist and long skirts that billow as they spin and dance. They are wearing tall beige hats. In the photo, we see five dervishes dancing with their arms aloft. They are dancing on a wooden floor. In the background we can see the musicians playing their instruments. They are similarly dressed but with black robes on. Behind them and to the left of the photo, we see the seated audience of both men and women. The performance is being held in a very large hall with stone walls and ceilings with many arches in the ceilings.