In Karahayıt, a neighborhood belonging to the Pamukkale district of Denizli, the Pamukkale Mevlâna and Whirling Dervishes Lovers Association, which continues its activities, has established the 'Tent of the Dervish's House', where semazen (whirling dervish) performances are held for local and foreign tourists visiting the white paradise Pamukkale and the famous healing red waters of Karahayıt. The Mevlâna culture is introduced to 20,000 foreign tourists annually. Under the roof of the Dervish's House Tent, training activities are carried out to cultivate new semazen performers, preserve the Mevlâna culture, and pass it on to future generations.
The founder of the Pamukkale Mevlâna and Whirling Dervishes Lovers Association and the Dervish's House Tent, Semazen Master Ali Temel, stated, "We have been performing Mevlevi shows for about 28 years. I am also the founder of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Association. Here, we established the Mevlâna and Whirling Dervishes Lovers Association. We have around 15,000 to 20,000 foreign tourists visiting us annually. They watch the sema performances and listen to the Quran. Then they leave here happily. We provide information about Mevlâna. We distribute brochures about Mevlâna in their own languages to every foreign tourist who comes to the Dervish's Tent. We give them gifts from Mevlana's seven admonitions. We have sema performances every evening at 6:30 pm specifically for foreign tourist groups visiting Pamukkale and Karahayıt. We serve voluntarily on the path of Mevlevi without any support. Inshallah, with the permission of Allah, we will continue for many more years. The Dervish's Tent is particularly popular among tourists from Poland, South America, and lately, Italians have shown great interest. Americans continue to come throughout the summer. Especially after these hot days, Americans continue during the winter months. Dutch and Brazilian tourists show interest. I have trained and taught Mevlana's philosophy to students in Brazil and the Netherlands. They convey Mevlana's culture and tolerance there," he said.
