Just behind the Blue Mosque in the Sultanahmet is an incredible place called The Dervish Cafe. It’s an outdoor cafe with an amazing view of the surroundings that serves all kinds of tea, some food, and is a great place to enjoy a nargileh (water pipe). They have all different kinds of flavored tobacco, from apple and strawberry to cappucino.

For the best listening experience, use headphones!

They play Turkish music in the evenings, and sometimes have a Whirling Dervish performance. Of course the real performance (which is not a performance at all but a religious ceremony) takes place at a Dervish Lodge. Tickets are pretty expensive, so we haven’t taken that plunge yet, although I think we probably will.

In the Dervish ceremony, they spin to achieve unity with God. The short, incomplete performance we saw was amazing and inspiring, so I can only imagine at how incredible the complete ceremony must be to behold.

This recording was made at the Dervish Cafe while Val and I were enjoying a nargileh (strawberry in this case) and some tea. Not only can you hear the traditional music, but also the sounds of the cafe. If you listen closely, you can hear the bubbling of our nargileh as we watch the Dervish whirl.