By Biray Alsac Catalyst

Send comments to: catalyst@wildcat.arizona.edu

photo courtesy of uapresents Tilt-a-whirl: The Whirling Dervishes will skirt the mystical realm on Wednesday, October 21 in a performance at Centennial Hall.

You needn't make the pilgrimage to Mecca to get a taste of Islamic culture. You simply need to attend the mystical and ethnic performance from the renowned Whirling Dervishes of Turkey, sponsored by the good people at UApresents.. It's a performance which may leave you feeling enlightened and spiritually charged. Not to mention dizzy.

Comprised of members of The Mevlevi Ensemble of the Mevlana Culture and Art Foundation of Turkey, The Whirling Dervishes are a devout bunch. They whirl, they twirl, they wear cool hats. They also dedicate their lives to preserving the ancient Islamic traditions of legendary Sufi mystic and poet Jalaluddin Rumi.

The first half of Wednesday's program will be dedicated to the sacred Islamic music of Sema and accompanied by various readings performed by Shaikh Kabir Helminski and Camille Helminski, names you probably won't hear at the UA Poetry Center. The music will be executed by traditional instruments and led by blind singer Hafiz Kani Karaca.

The second half of the performance will feature the seven "Whirling Dervishes." In Persian, "dervish" means "seeking doors" which, in Sufi philosophy, translates to a person who stands between the material and spiritual worlds, leading the way to a higher consciousness. Through the each movement, gesture and shape, these incredible "whirling dervishes" seek to achieve a union with the Divine. This is no new age hocus pocus - the Dervishes performances are based on 13th century Islamic traditions.

Ahmet T. Karamustafa, an associate professor of Islamic thought and Turkish literature at Washington University, will give a free "Arts Encounters" discussion of the Whirling Dervishes and Sufi Tradition before the performance from 6:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. in Room 102 of Center for English as a Second Language.

To tie in to the theme of Sufism, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (located in Room 204 in the Franklin Building) will have five lectures, a video presentation and a complimentary concert during the span of these next two weeks. Their free concert Infinite Beginnings will be held at 8 p.m. Fri., Oct. 30 at the Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway Blvd., where the well-known performer Latif Bolat and Ensemble will play devotional songs of Turkey.

The Whirling Dervishes perform at Centennial Hall Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $16, $22 and $28, half-price for students with ID and kids 18 and under. For ticket info, call the Centennial Hall Box Office at 621-3341.