Whirling Dervishes, Dancing Dervishes, Dervishes or Islamic holy men occupied a special place in religiously tolerant Istanbul. Like Christian monks, some dervishes roamed the countryside or the city, while others lived in communities or orders. The best-known order is that of the Mevlevi derwishes, the followers of the philosopher and mystic poet Jalal ad-Din Rumi (1207-1273), who is also called Mevlana, our master. Mevlevi derwishes try to connect with Allah through prayer, music and whirling dance. Their right hand is raised during the dance to receive the heavenly blessing, which they pass on to the earth with their left hand. The followers of Mevlana lived in tekkes, also called Mevlevihanesi. Vanmour painted the Mevlevihane which stood near the Palais de Hollande in Pera. It was the oldest in the city and, in addition to a prayer hall or dance hall (semahane), consisted of rooms for the derwishes, a room and a special prayer hall for their leader the sheikh, a women's section, a library, a dining hall and kitchen, a public fountain, a bell chamber from which the prayer hour was announced, and a cemetery. The ceremony began when the leader of the derwishes left his seat and stood at the edge of the dance floor to address his followers. Vanmour depicted him on the right of the painting in the contemplative posture he would assume throughout the ceremony. After this, the derwishes greeted their leader one by one, as the two men in the foreground do, and then they began their prayer. By spinning around in the same place to the rhythm of the music, they fell into a trance. The derwishes wore the distinctive cylindrical hat, the goatee, and long woolen clothes that swirled around them in a beautiful circle as they spun.On the balcony, which we see in the upper left, the flute was being played. Vanmour has depicted two spectators quite prominently. They are standing behind the balustrade near the religious leader's chair, and their features closely resemble those of

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