Dining, Dancing and Dervishes

We were tired.

So very tired.

After all the fun of Selcuk, we said goodbye to Hunter who was heading back to Istanbul and boarded our bus.

It was going to be another long, long, long ride for us.

Eight hours? Ten hours? Twelve hours? I can't even remember anymore.

What I do remember, was stumbling off the bus in the middle of the night having been woken with a jolt. It was a mere break for the driver and I don't know why I got off. I walked around this small town directionless and then walked back onto the bus. I somehow managed to find the correct bus as well take a photo of the town, that reminds me (and hopefully will remind me in the future) of the stupidity of walking off your bus in a foreign country.

We managed to get to Urgup though.

And we also did what we thought we would never do.... we paid for dinner and a show.

This wasn't something we had wanted to do. But for the purposes of time and convenience, we did it. After all, they promised free-flowing drinks and traditional Turkish dancing!

We weren't actually disappointed. Though it was expensive, we were able to see what we wanted to see most of all in terms of the dancing. The Dervishes!!!

Whilst we were unable to take photos during the performance, they kindly came in afterwards and span again for us.
Whilst watching them dance in the dark, it was a strangely hypnotic experience. Even though it was a performance for tourists and others having dinner, the quiet serenity in which they danced couldn't be ignored.

After they left, we began to eat and drink in earnest. There was lots of it and it kept coming.

However, we would be interrupted (not in a rude way) as more dancers came in.
The speed at which they danced was amazing.
Then it was the girls' turn.As the dancers came together, a mock wedding was conducted.

Oliee was even dragged up and "married". We were all so happy for him!
Near the end of the dances (and there were many of them), the men jumped into a pyramid and unfurled a Turkish flag. I have never been to a place where the people have such a fierce love for their country. After spending only a short time in Turkey, I can completely understand why!