Konya and the Whirling Dervishes

I have been meaning to write about our trip to Konya for so long, and somehow I just haven't had time. I guess its just human nature to make ourselves busy, no matter where we live. Plus, Alli is leaving this weekend, and we had two parties to plan and put on this week, so that has added extra stress. We took the day off from school today, so that Alli has time to pack, and to gather up loose ends before we leave for Istanbul this evening. So now I have the day off too, to run errands, and to blog!

Last week was a week-long holiday (schools and government offices, including the post office, closed all week), so we thought it would be a great time to visit Konya. Wednesday night was the beginning of a week-long Mevlana festival, at which whirling dervishes perform each night. I feel like I've always heard the term "whirling dervish", but I have never known what they are, why they dance, the theory or the beliefs behind it. It was incredibly interesting to learn all these things while there.

We a day bus to Konya, and the drive was beautiful! It went inland, through some mountains (small mountains!), but enough that they had a light dusting of snow on them! It reminded me of the drive from Seattle to Spokane. The snow and the pine trees put me in the Christmas mood. I tried to take a picture, but pictures shot from a moving vehicle, through reflective glass windows don't turn out so well. Chigdem, a friend of Verna's daughter who lives in Konya, met us at the bus station, and took us to her house. We would not have been able to do this trip without Chigdem, literally. First of all, all the hotels were booked, and we would not have been able to find a room at the late date when we planned the trip. Second, we would not have been able to get tickets to the festival (it is a huge deal for Turks, some make pilgrimages there every year), but Chigdem's husband knew a guy who knew a guy and got tickets for the three of us. Third, Konya is very spread out, and without Chigdem to guide us, we would not have been able to see all that we did.

We met Chigdem's family, and ate the type of pide (Turkish pizza) that is special to Konya. It was very interesting to talk to one of her sons, Gunesh, who is 23. He was frustrated with Turkish expectations for young men, the educational system that forces students to choose a career path when they are 13 or 14, and the fact that all Turkish men have to do a stint in the army. I think I would be frustrated if I was him too!

Finally on Wednesday night we headed to the festival. It was amazing! The stadium seats completely surround the round floor, so everyone gets a good view. The show began with about 45 minutes of singing from a popular Turkish artist. Then, the dervishes came out. The dance has a specific sequence to it, and the actually whirling doesn't come till the end. Each dervish dances with the right hand palm up, to receive grace and blessings from God, and the left hand palm down, to distribute those blessings to the earth. They wear white, which is the burial color here, to show that their ego is dead, they are giving up earthly things. The dance is the dervish's journey closer to God. The festival is named after Mevlana, and culminates on the anniversary of his death on Dec. 17th. Mevlana called all people to him, believing that differences in religion and beliefs didn't matter. Back to present time - the dancing was amazing! I don't know how they don't get dizzy! The dancers whirl around, hands in the air, always keeping their left foot on the ground, spinning around with their right foot. The music being played was absolutely hypnotizing! Reed flutes called "ney" and warbling voices, so beautiful!

The next morning we did a whirl-wind tour of Konya on foot, led by Chigdem. We went to the Mevlana museum, which holds the tombs of Mevlana and several of his followers. Then we visited tile museum, which was beautiful! Turkey is famous for all things ceramic - plates, bowls, tiles, and all manner of art! Then another museum, which held all sorts of carvings on ancient wood doors and marble pieces. Gorgeous things, and it was amazing to realize how old it all was. I'm sure the artists didn't think anyone would be looking at the work ten centuries later in a museum! At about 1:00 Chigdem said goodbye and put us on a bus back to the bus station. It was a whirlwind trip, but I think it was just enough time! Konya is not a very pretty city (mostly industrial buildings and ugly apartments), and it made me even more glad that we live in Antalya, which really is beautiful.

Then on Sunday, it was my birthday! It was Alli and my day to teach Sunday school, and all the kids sang happy birthday to me! So sweet! Then after church a small group of us went out to lunch at a very yummy restaurant, and Ben and Verna brought an absolutely amazing cake! I felt very loved. We went straight to our Turkish lesson afterwards, where Emel gave us fun Christmas lanterns, as birthday and good-bye gifts. Later that night we met Ebru for dessert, and we had kunefe, my favorite dessert here in Turkey. Its basically shredded wheat with melted cheese in the middle, soaked in honey and sprinkled with pistachio crumbles. I know it sounds disgusting, but its actually quite amazing!

Since then we have been madly trying to finish things up - Alli has been saying good-bye, which is hard. This week we put on a winter party at the kresh, and a small goodbye/Christmas party at our house. And we have been trying to arrange our trip to Istanbul this weekend. Alli's flight leaves early Monday morning, and we never did have a chance to see Istanbul, so we figured now would be as good a time as any. And Ashley, our new friend, will come with us, which is great, because then I have a friend to take the ten hour bus ride home with me! I am so thankful that Ashley is here, because I know that life will feel really empty without Alli. (I can't remember if I already said this or not: Ashley is working as a teacher for the kids of a couple of families that are here with YWAM. She lives way out of town, but she joined our Bible study, and we hang out as much as we can. She is an answer to prayer!)