Pareesa-- Week 8 Istanbul

Wow, this is my last week in the city and I honestly cannot believe I have spent two months here. Time flew by, and I have had an extremely eventful and interesting time here. I definitely learned many lessons of patience between the language barriers and cultural differences. There have been times when I have been frustrated and homesick to the point of breaking down, but I have learned to brave through-- and work on my patience even as I return to the US. Because I only have a few days left, I still wanted to get through some things on my to-do list.

Topkapi

The past weekend I went to Topkapi Palace. I don't have many pictures of it, since most of the artifacts interesting to me did not allow for photography. I saw many of the Holy Prophet's personal items--preserved from hundreds of years ago! There were also items of other prophets in the palace. In these chambers, I could hear the Quran being read by a hafiz over the loud speakers. I really could sense that , even though the palace is a museum, it is a holy sight all the same.

One night, I found an arts group which takes a group of 15 people, once a week, to an authentic sema. I joined them and we were taken to this hidden monastery and were able to witness a real ceremony of the whirling dervishes. It started off with a sermon (in Turkish), then some praying and chanting, a small snack, and finally ending with the dervishes whirling to Sufi music played by the musicians of the group. These people are followers of Rumi (who is buried in Konya and is the leader of Sufisim), his painting was in the center of the hall and was the final face the dervishes bowed down to when ending the ceremony. I don't really understand the rituals of Sufism (whirling, singing, playing wind instruments), but I do think the ceremony was extremely beautiful nonetheless. Rumi's followers were really emersed in it and I could feel their passion in their chanting, singing, and dancing. It will be something I won't forget. Since it was a religious ceremony I hardly took any pictures and don't feel right sharing them online, but I hope I have described it will enough. 

This week has been really stretching on since Ramadan has started, but in my last few days I hope to see whatever else I can of this city.

  

Until next time, görüşürüz Istanbul! <3