Photo from Wikimedia Commons

CNN reports that some changes may be afoot for an 800-year old tradition — the dance of the Whirling Dervishes — including allowing women to perform the sacred dance.

Every December, crowds flock to central Turkey to watch the Whirling Dervishes perform a sacred ritual for followers of a mystical and philosophical strand of Islam called Order of Mevlevi, reports CNN. This Sufi movement was founded in the 13th century after the death of poet and philosopher Mevlana Rumi.

The dance is a symbolic journey in which the dervishes are meant to get closer to God and truth. Watch a video below:

For more information, read the full report on Whirling Dervishes at CNN.com or listen to a podcast by Krista Tippett on The Ecstatic Faith of Rumi.