SYRIA-CONFLICT-RAMADAN-SUFI-DANCE

Sufi Dervish dancer Mahmoud al-Kharrat (R), 34, applauds other members of his family as they dance at a courtyard in their house in the Shahgur district of the old city of Syria's capital Damascus on May 6, 2021. - In Syria, members of the Kharrat family are one of the largest Damascene families trying to preserve the Sufi whirling ritual often performed in public during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Whirling -- a sort of moving meditation through which Sufis seek to commune with the divine -- sees performers twirl to the hypnotic rhythm of prayer until they reach a trance-like state. The ritual is particularly popular in Iran, Afghanistan, and Turkey. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)