ABSTRACT
Education of women was one of the foremost targets of the Kemalist campaigns and served as an icon of modernity. In contemporary Istanbul most women of the Halveti-Cerrahi order are newcomers in a metropolis of more than 12 million people facing inflation, unemployment, housing shortage, and overcrowded flats. Being a young female dervish in contemporary Istanbul is to claim both tradition and modernity. The women who perform zikir at the Halveti-Cerrahi tekke differ as much among themselves as religious women in general do in contemporary Istanbul. The male dervishes act on the fringe of a public arena, while the women’s activities and rituals are even more hidden. Both male and female dervishes are disciples of the sheik, and are supposed to follow the ideal of training and developing themselves. Legends, stories of miracles, poetry, songs and instrumental music are known to be transmitted among the dervishes, particularly the poems of Yunus.
