Spring
Retreat Caravan with Sherif Baba
Contact Cem
to save your space!
Turkey
April 17 – May 2
Come
and join Sherif
Baba
and Cem
for a 15 day retreat with daily sohbets, meditations and practices
on a pilgrimage to holy Sufi sites including:
Istanbul,
which known by the Sufis of the world as the city of saints.
Konya,
the final resting place of Rumi
and many other great human beings.
Cappadocia
where we will meditate in cave dwellings once used by early
Christian monks and Gnostics of all ages
for contemplation and meditation. Nearby is Hadji
Bektash, a whole town dedicated to a 12th century Sufi
saint
who left a permanent mark on the road of humanity.
Itinerary
The
first day in Istanbul
is our orientation day. We start with an orientation meeting where we all
get to renew or make new acquaintances. We will go over the itinerary,
some cultural information and receive our travel kits (maps, cell
phone…). Then we will take a walk around the historic Sultan
Ahmet Square and have dinner. Upon returning to the hotel
we will gather for a short talk with Cem.
Our
second day will start with a meditation before breakfast then breakfast
and a walking tour of the Eminonu
district, which is the oldest part of Istanbul. This will be an all day
tour including lunch and a Grand
Bazaar pass through, ending with dinner at Hamdi’s
near the Egyptian
Market also known as the spice bazaar. Upon returning to the hotel we
will gather for a short talk with Baba and a meditation before retiring
for the night.
On
the third day after meditation and breakfast we will board a bus and go to
the tombs of Sumbul
Efendi, Seyid Nizam, Merkez Efendi and Ummi Sinan Efendi, all great
Sufi masters. Lunch will be at a small but famous place next to Merkez
Efendi and dinner will be a traditional Sufi meal at Ummi Sinan. We will
take tea and coffee at the well known Pierre
Loti café, the very place the famous French author is said to have
sat and wrote. Upon returning to the hotel we will gather for a
short talk with Baba and a meditation before retiring for the night.
On
day four we depart for Cappadocia
by way of Ankara.
We will start with an early wake up and breakfast then board our bus for
the first leg of our journey to Ankara, the capital of Turkey and the tomb
of the Sufi saint Hadji
Bayram Veli. On the way there we will have a meditation and zikir. We
will also get to hear the story of Hadji Bayram Veli and learn a song (illahi)
written by him. After visiting Hadji Bayram Velis tomb and lunch we will
continue our journey to Goreme
in Cappadocia. After checking into our
hotel we will take a small walking tour of the town then get some
dinner. Upon returning to the hotel we will gather for a short talk with
Baba and a meditation before retiring for the night.
Day
five will start with a meditation then breakfast after which we will board
our bus again for a day of local touring The open air museum of Goreme,
Ihlara
valley and the underground
city at Derinkuyu, with lunch and some shopping thrown in for good
measure. The place for dinner will be a treat. Upon returning to the hotel
we will gather for a short talk with Baba and a meditation before retiring
for the night.
Day
six will be a free day. We will help you organize it if you want. The
options are many including walking tours though the Fairy Chimney valleys,
Hot air ballooning, shopping for carpets, renting bikes, horseback
riding or just wandering around aimfully or aimlessly as you wish. We will
regroup for dinner. Upon returning to the hotel we will gather for a short
talk with Baba and a meditation before retiring for the night.
On
Day seven after meditation and breakfast, we checkout of our hotel and go
first of all to Hadji
Bektash. We spend the morning there doing our pilgrimage then after
lunch we leave for Konya.
We stop half way there to take tea and visit the restored caravanserai of
Sultanhani from the time of Rumi. Arriving in Konya
we check in our hotel, then go to visit the tomb of Shems,
walk around the center to dinner then go to a friend’s place for zikir
and whatever comes. Upon returning to the hotel we will gather for a short
talk with Baba and a meditation before retiring for the night.
On
Day eight we start the day with morning prayers at the tomb of Shems.
After breakfast we walk to the tomb of Mevlana
Jelladeddin Rumi. After which we will board our bus and go to the tomb
of Konyavi, one of Mevlana Jellaleddin Rumi’s teachers. From there we
will visit the tombs of Tavuz Ana the Peacock Mother and Atesh Baz the
head cook for Mevlana Jellaleddin Rumi. Somewhere along the line we
will stop for lunch and tea, and be back in Konya center for dinner,
followed by zikir and whatever Rumi gives us.
Day
nine. We start the day with morning prayers and meditation at the tomb of Shems.
Breakfast at the hotel then a walking tour of the center of Konya.
We will go to the School where Rumi taught, the place where the famous
meeting with Shems took place, the hill where the old palace once stood,
the old market including the gold market where Rumi started turning to the
beat of the goldsmiths. We will take lunch in a traditional
Konya restaurant with low tables and private rooms. We will visit the
felt makers of Konya where the sikke (the hats worn by turners) are made
and also a shoe shop that has made only turning shoes for generations.
Then we will go to the famous Dervish Brothers carpet shop for a
presentation on the spiritual connections in the symbolism of the designs
and colors in kilims and carpets. We will stay there for dinner and zikir
and a talk by Baba.
On
the tenth day of touring Rumi gave to me a full free day……(to the tune
of the twelve days of Christmas)..We will regroup for dinner and zikir and
or whatever Rumi has to offer.
Day
eleven we begin with morning prayers and meditation at Shems and then
breakfast back at the hotel. We checkout of the hotel and begin our
journey to Kutahya.
On the way we will stop at the tomb of the great beloved of all people who
love to laugh, the one and only ….Nasreddin
Hodja or Molla Nasreddin in Akshehir where we will also have lunch. We
will continue to Kutahya, one of Turkey’s most important ceramic centers
and the home of one of Turkeys living Sufi legends Mehmet Dumlu Efendi. We
will be his guests for music, fellowship and dinner. He also has a very
large and very beautiful ceramic shop. We will spend the night in Kutahya.
On
the twelfth day of our journey we will start as always with a meditation
and breakfast then checking out of our hotel board our bus for the final
leg of our journey to Istanbul.
….. Upon returning to our Istanbul hotel we will gather for a short talk
with Baba and a meditation before retiring for the night.
Day
thirteen will be a secular day. We start with breakfast then walk over to
the Aya
Sofia, the
Basilica cistern, then lunch followed by the Topkapi
Palace Museum. Then free time till dinner in
Beyoglu, a lively night of music, dancing (Turkish Style), good food
and wine (optional). On this night we will not have meditation but we will
have fun (not optional).
Day
fourteen will be our shopping day. The main focus will be the grand bazaar
and we will divide up into smaller groups of similar interest. Each group
will be lead by and experienced shopper to make sure that we do not get
taken for the proverbial ride..We will lunch separately (in our smaller
groups) then meet back up for dinner at Hamdi’s near the Spice Market.
We will then return to the hotel for our last night gathering talk with
Baba.
Day
fifteen departure from Istanbul……
Price
$2100
FOR ONE PERSON SHARING A DOUBLE ROOM
$500
SINGLE ROOM SUPPLEMENT
Included
in the price are the following:
Accommodations
in an at least three star hotel in a shared room of two or three beds with
private bath.
Single room supplement is required.
Half
pension meaning Two (2) of your meals including breakfast.
All
transport within the country or countries of the tour including airport
transfers.
Not
included in the price are the following:
Airfare
to and from Istanbul.
All
visas
Museum
entrances
Room
service items including mini bar.
Tips
and gratuities
All
beverages ordered during meals except at breakfast.
All
hotel extras such as laundry, telephone calls, movie rentals and so forth.