Krista Kapralos's Archive
Last Dance in the Sahara
Krista Kapralos goes dancing in Mali: “Pulsing to the beat under the baobab trees, the crowd pressed closer into a circle where three women were on their knees, mimicking cows.”
Topics: Mali
Ecstatic Blur
Deniz Evren was 17 years old when she started training as a whirling dervish. It was three months before she could spin without getting dizzy, and many years before she perfected the routine so she could stay in perfect alignment with other dervishes. The heavy white skirts help, Evren explains to writer Krista Kapralos.
Turning Circles
The image of the whirling dervish, a spinning man donning a long skirt and tall hat, is iconic in Turkey. At a cultural center on the outskirts of Istanbul, that image is getting a makeover.