Turkey

Poetry turned to motion

Turkey holds the Mevlevi tradition, built on the teaching of the poet Rumi some eight centuries ago. Its ceremony of turning is a moving meditation, the body emptied until only the prayer is left. Around it stand the reed flute, the makam system of melody, and a calligraphy held as a spiritual discipline.

The order welcomes through its own lodges and on its own terms. A ceremony may be watched with reverence long before any part of it is offered to share.

The places worth the journey

Konya, Rumi's city, is the spiritual centre and the keeper of the order. Istanbul holds the historic lodge at Galata and the great domed mosques. Cappadocia opens its valleys of carved stone and rock-cut churches. Bursa, the first Ottoman capital, keeps quieter shrines and the old trade in silk.