Sufi Spin

This evening we trekked over to the Citadel on the outskirts of Cairo to a Mevlevi Sufi dance, or a "Whirling Dervish" performance in colonist nomenclature. Sufism is mystical Islam, and existed during the life of the Prophet, but became widely rejected by mainstream Islam due to their unusual practices until the 12th century when a charter of sorts was devised which alligned with traditional Islam. Nonetheless, they are on the fringe.

These dances initially began in southern Turkey, and have spread, consisting of around two hours of music, singing and dancing. It was interesting, but, eh, touristy? A crowd of non-Egyptians coming to view them on stage...a little uncomfortable and weird. The dancers however are extraordinarily skilled, some spinning standing in the exact same place for upwards of 40 minutes. I don't know how they do that. I would have been haunched over a Citadel wall vomitting after ten minutes. Nonetheless, it was neat. And I sat next to a visiting anthropology professor from Northeastern who lives in Watertown. You really can't travel too far in this world.