3 Best Places to Watch Whirling Dervishes on Istanbul

Whirling Dervishes is a known spiritual ceremony practice of the Mevlevi Order members from Konya founded in the 13^th century. For tourists who want to see Istanbul Whirling Dervish live performance, there are awesome places in the Capital of Turkey where tourists can experience the spiritual ceremony of the Sema first hand. Check out the top 3 best places to watch Istanbul's Whirling Dervishes.

According to the Wizard Istanbul, the Cemberlitas Press Museum at the Sultanahmet in Istanbul has a good venue for the Whirling Dervishes performance. The seats will let you have a better view of the spiritual ceremony dance. There are also large pillows at the very front of the seats that allows viewers to sit on the floor. The dance is also accompanied with Turkish artists/musician and not the Sufi musicians. It is held every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 19:30pm for only 35 TL.

In Hodjapasha Cultural Center also known as Hocapaşa Kültür Merkezil in Istanbul, the venue is more accommodating as its interior is stone-carved. The whole ambiance, the lightings forms a more spiritual and mystic experience for the viewers along with the performance. Taking pictures or videos is not allowed while the Whirling Dervishes are performing. They are also performing every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 19:30 with fee, 50 TL.

The Sirkeci Train Station has a venue that is also good since the performance room is not elaborated and there's nothing really dominates the venue but only the Whirling Dervishes performance. The viewers will have a chance to concentrate on the details of the performance, including the chanting, the music and the the Semazens and Sema ceremony.

In order to have a better view, front seats are more convenient. There are 3 or 4 rows of chairs all lined one behind another, if the seats in front are not available anymore, someone might block your view during performance, it is better to come early. The Whirling Dervishes are performing every Tuesday and Saturday at 19:30 for only 40 TL.