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Sudan

Liter everywhere. One of the least clean markets I have seen in all my travels.

At sunset we moved near the tomb of the sufri leader Ahmed al Nil to witness the Whirling Dervishes Ceremony only on Friday evenings. This is the graveyard prior to entering the main area.

Men praying at the local outdoor mosque.

Sufism is associated with both Sunni & Shia Islam. Those who practice it are called Sufis, or Dervishes.

The Sufi order known as Tariqa, Qadiriyyah is one of the most widespread in Sudan & north Africa. It was established by Abdul Qadir Jilani (1077-1166 AD), a native of the Iranian province of Gilan.

The ceremony starts with the Madeeh - chanting words of gratitude to the Prophet Mohamed. The audience interacts with the chanters, dancing to the rhythms of the percussion instruments.

Then comes the Zikr, in which the dervishes repeat the word 'Allah' many times.

The dervishes start whirling around inside the circle. With the music, the fragrance of burning frankincense, the endless repetition of religious chants, and the dizziness, they go into a state of trance

According to ancient belief, Sufism is about the purification of the soul in pursuit of inner peace.

The whirling dance came from the Mevlevi Order in Turkey, and is just one of the physical methods used to try to reach religious ecstasy

While the more well known Mevlevi dervishes wear white robes, Sudanese dervishes are often dressed in green and red

Sufism started in Baghdad, and spread to Persia, India, north Africa, and Spain.

Children enjoying evening taking it all in

Another feature of the Sudanese dervish is the wearing of beads. The dervish elder pictured here has 1,000 beads wrapped around his neck — quite a weight to carry

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