Fortuitously on my way back to the Ferry I walk past the local railway station and see a sign advertising The Whirling Dervish. Ten minutes before they start - why not?
Now, for those of you who think this is a dessert, think again. The Dervish are a group of the Mevlevi order famous for their hypnotic dance of continuous circles/whirling until they work themselves into a trance like state (and therefore closer to God).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mevlevi_Order
Where's the Coffee?
Exactly my question. In addition to the 1 hour display, there is free tea or Turkish coffee before the show starts.
I ask for the latter and get given the former. There is a look of disbelief when I ask for the coffee.
The (apple) chai (Tea) is nice.
The Whirling Dervish display is quite surreal - they do actually spin for around 40 minutes in one direction and speed up as they go. You can see the younger ones (the juniors?) watching the tips of their fingers on the leading hand (both arms are stretched out parallel to their shoulders). Over time this shifts into a soft mid-length and unfocussed gaze. They really do look like they've hypnotised themselves.
After the show and as everyone is packing up and the (approximately 40) spectators are decamping, a gentleman approaches me and asks in a conspiratorial whisper "You drink Turkish coffee?"
"Yes," says I.
Either he appreciates my fortitude or has a medical background and can detect the signs of withdrawal symptoms.
He leads me into the kitchen in one of the annexes off the hall. He builds me said coffee and hands it to me and rushes off to help clean up.
Now a Turkish coffee looks benign enough - then again, the same can be said of an unexploded hand-grenade.
How to describe it. Well...
- imagine a French press.
- Instead of the actual press, just take the ingredients - a lot of fine coffee grounds and hot water (about a ratio of 1/3 to 2/3).
- Now put both of these in a cup that holds about the same as a shot glass (a useful comparison on a number of levels)
- Serve with a glass of cold water alongside
- (stirring is optional by the way)
The person consuming this concentrate drinks the coffee, alternating with sips of the water to remove the fine coffee grounds that are sticking to the teeth. There's no spitting out here - a case of swirling the grounds around before swallowing and repeating the process until all that's left is a sludge of coffee grounds in the bottom of the cup.I drink it. I love it. I've developed a taste for it over my stay in Istanbul.
There's no-one around so I leave 5 Turkish Lira under the cup, hoping any spillage doesn't dissolve it. He arrives just as I am leaving and shouts out. Not a word of English - just a shake of the head and hands me back the money. This was for me as a treat. He smiles - evidently I have passed the initiation ceremony and he's expecting to see me on the floor next week as a newly conscripted member of the Dervish.
It's been an "Alice in Wonderland" kind of day. I decide to top this off in the most appropriate fashion and head off to find a traditional café serving Hookah pipes.
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