Goreme

The Sema (whirling dervishes) ceremony represents all a mystical journey of man’s spiritual ascent through love, finding the truth and arriving to the “Perfect”. Then he returns from this spiritual journeys as a man who reached maturity and a greater perfection, so as to love and to be of service to the whole creation, to all creatures without discriminating in regard to belief, class, or race.

Cappadocia Whirling Dervishes Ceremony
The dervish with his hat (his ego’s tombstone), and his white skirt (his ego’s shroud) is spiritually born to the truth. When he removes his black cloak, he journeys and advances to the spiritual maturity through the stages of the Sema. At the beginning and each stage of the Sema holding his arms crosswise he represents number one, and testifies to God’s unity.