Though footsteps of all great journeys are likely to intersect an ambling ancient track of a Sufi mystic, there are a wealth of tracks connecting us to the ecstatic dervishes of Turkiye and the sacred breath of the NEY flute that accompanies the poetry of the first whirling dervish, 13th century poet Mevlana Jelaluddin RUMI.
The NEY is a reed flute which often accompanies whirling ceremonies. Here is a beautiful piece played by Bilgin Canaz - Turkish Ney Artist
The famous Rumi poem about the ney ~
Listen to the cry of the reed flute
Listen to its song of separation:
Ever since I was cut from the reed bed
I have made this crying sound
and made men and women weep with me
I need a heart torn by separation
So you may understand the pain of loves desire
Whoever has been taken from his Source
Always longs to go back
Listen to the cry of the reed flute
Listen to its song of separation
A great version of this song was recorded by my beloved friends BELOVED, a gorgeous world music ensemble I was a part of, and miss dearly as we all headed for different quadrants of the globe. There is an audio clip you can download, and you'll notice set amidst the ney and amazing vocals is a hint of sarangi :)
My personal journey to see the whirling dervish sufis of Turkey, had me on an uneventful 12-hour train ride from Istanbul to Konya. At the 11 and 1/2 hour point, the silent man sitting next to me suddenly said with a grand gesture across the aisle, "That man is a dervish, follow him at Konya." It turned out the man was a school teacher; a kind one who helped me find a hotel and dropped me at the tomb of Mevlana. The walk back from the tomb was the fateful one, where against a whole line of defenses I finally ended up in a carpet shop whose owner was a dervish and brought me along a winding alleyway to a secret gathering of 3 generations of real-before-my-eyes whirling dervishes and musicians.
This 40-day Virtual World Tour of Music correlates with the World Music House kickstarter crowdfund. (Click the orange words for more details!)
The NEY is a reed flute which often accompanies whirling ceremonies. Here is a beautiful piece played by Bilgin Canaz - Turkish Ney Artist
The famous Rumi poem about the ney ~
Listen to the cry of the reed flute
Listen to its song of separation:
Ever since I was cut from the reed bed
I have made this crying sound
and made men and women weep with me
I need a heart torn by separation
So you may understand the pain of loves desire
Whoever has been taken from his Source
Always longs to go back
Listen to the cry of the reed flute
Listen to its song of separation
A great version of this song was recorded by my beloved friends BELOVED, a gorgeous world music ensemble I was a part of, and miss dearly as we all headed for different quadrants of the globe. There is an audio clip you can download, and you'll notice set amidst the ney and amazing vocals is a hint of sarangi :)
My personal journey to see the whirling dervish sufis of Turkey, had me on an uneventful 12-hour train ride from Istanbul to Konya. At the 11 and 1/2 hour point, the silent man sitting next to me suddenly said with a grand gesture across the aisle, "That man is a dervish, follow him at Konya." It turned out the man was a school teacher; a kind one who helped me find a hotel and dropped me at the tomb of Mevlana. The walk back from the tomb was the fateful one, where against a whole line of defenses I finally ended up in a carpet shop whose owner was a dervish and brought me along a winding alleyway to a secret gathering of 3 generations of real-before-my-eyes whirling dervishes and musicians.
This 40-day Virtual World Tour of Music correlates with the World Music House kickstarter crowdfund. (Click the orange words for more details!)
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