Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

3 Entertainment It’s rare to have a week go by without a range of special events, festivals and performances being staged in İstanbul. Locals adore listening to live music (jazz is a particular favourite), attend multiplex cinemas on a regular basis and support a small but thriving number of local theatre, opera and dance companies.

Dervishes whirl at a sema (whirling-dervish ceremony) | RESUL MUSLU/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Seeing the Dervishes Whirl If you thought the Hare Krishnas or the Harlem congregations were the only religious groups to celebrate their faith through music and movement, think again. Those sultans of spiritual spin known as the ‘whirling dervishes’ have