Seven whirling dervishes from Konya will take to the stage at London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre on Monday 23 November for Rhythms of the Divine, an evening of live Turkish Sufi music and the Mevlevi Sema Ceremony.
The 22-member Konya Metropolitan Municipality Turkish Sufi Music and Sema Ensemble will open the evening with a concert of traditional Sufi music. After the interval, the musicians and singers will accompany the semazens, as the dervishes are known in Turkish, through the measured turns and gestures of the Sema, a devotional ceremony rooted in the teachings of the 13th-century poet and mystic Rumi.
Listen for the breathy sound of the ney, a reed flute, and the beat of the kudüm, a pair of small kettledrums. Together with singing and recitation, they mark the stages of a ceremony in which the dervishes’ turning is an act of remembrance and devotion to God.
From Rumi’s Konya to London
The Mevlevi Order grew up around Rumi’s teachings in Konya, in central Türkiye, where he spent much of his life and where his mausoleum stands today. Generations of musicians and dervishes have passed down the practice, which UNESCO added to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.
The ensemble returns to Britain after three appearances in July 2025, at the Bradford Literature Festival, the West London Turkish Festival and the Royal College of Music’s Britten Theatre. The last of those also carried the title Rhythms of the Divine and featured a talk by Esin Çelebi Bayru, a 22nd-generation descendant of Rumi.
Dr Mehmet Karakuş, director of Yunus Emre Enstitüsü – London, which is staging the event at Sadler’s Wells, said:
The event is made possible through a collaboration with Konya Metropolitan Municipality and with the support of Turkish Airlines.
Event details
What — Rhythms of the Divine: Mevlevi Sema Ceremony and Turkish Sufi Music Concert
When — Monday 23 November 2026 at 7pm
Where — Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R 4TN
Nearest Tube — Angel
Running time — 1 hour 40 minutes, including a 20-minute interval
Age guidance — Ages 6 and over. Under-16s must be accompanied by an adult.
Tickets — £15–£45 plus a £4 transaction fee. Call the box office on 020 7863 8000 or book online at Sadler’s Wells.
