picture problems/ whirling dervish

Well, as luck would have it, I can't get the %$#*&!!! pictures to upload at all here on the Island of Rodos in Greece. We just got in today and I'll look for an internet place where I can make it work later. There's a bit of a computer language barrier --the computers in Turkey have several extra letters to contend with so they don't always correspond, and navigating through the photo uploading seemed a bit challenging. Unfortunately, it's much worse here in Greece where the entire alphabet is different!
So, you'll just have to wait for photographic evidence of the infamous belly dancer....

Our second night in Istanbul, my sainted mother decided to take us out for a really special evening of Turkish culture; to see the famous Whirling Dervishes. So after a full day of sightseeing and haggling, we primped up and headed off to the theater barely arriving in time for the start.
The show was in what appeared to be the domed hall of an ancient mosque. We waited in great expectation as the lights dimmed and the musicians came in. The music was played on oud drum, flute, citar (zither) and vocals and was VERY slow and solemn (kind of like a very slow one chord modal bluegrass song). Definitely not something you would be humming to yourself as you left the theater.
Then the dancers came in, four men in conical hats and white tunic/skirts, slowly, ceremoniously they started to walk one at a time around the stage. Occassionally one would make a little slow twirl. Then almost imperceptibly they began to move faster. Finally they began to twirl, with their skirts flying out around them. There was a look of angelic peace on their faces as they whirled.
Throughout it all the band strumming on in the background. For some reason, maybe we were too tired, punchy you might say, or maybe we just weren't in the mood for a mystical experience, we could hardly contain ourselves from laughing. We laughed all the way back to the hotel and Rory and Jasper agreed that it was the most boring event they had ever attended.
So, the next night we decided to try the Bosphorus river which promised a night of drinking, dancing, and a belly dancer.
more on that later...
Rod