LAHORE: Whirling dervishes rendered an outstanding performance on Saturday at the second Lahore International Tourism Expo by the Tourism Development Corporation Punjab (TDCP).

The dervishes mesmerised a fully crowded Expo Centre with their dance to the tunes of a live Turkish orchestra. There was a string of performances, including contemporary dancer Wahab Shah, besides singers and instrumentalists from Gilgit.

The expo was a lively affair attended by hundreds of visitors who had a range of choices at several stalls, including embroidery, artificial jewellery, gems and stones as well as dentistry, hotels etc.

The Turkish troupe consisted of some dozen men performing to a live orchestra. Despite capacity of around 800 people, a TDCP official seeking anonymity said over 3,000 invitations had been distributed by the corporation. Resultantly, around 300 people had to be kept outside the hall to prevent overcrowding. Those who could not enter exchanged harsh words with TDCP officials. Inside the over-stuffed hall, the situation was rather worse.

TDCP General Manager (Operations) Tanveer Jabbar when asked about distribution of extra invites said: “I know the capacity of the hall is 800 but we placed extra 100 chairs inside. However, the TDCP issued 2,000 cards out of which 500 were sent out of Lahore.”

To a question that some 300 people were kept waiting outside and there was chaos inside the hall as well, Jabbar said: “We tried to put up a good show but sometimes things go wrong.”

Earlier, Wahab Shah and his team delivered a stellar performance. It was lively and energetic with special light effects used effectively.

The Turkish group told Dawn it was their first trip to Pakistan. They said they were not scared to come here as it was their “brother country” and they felt excited about Lahore because of its rich history and heritage. The troupe said they were impressed by the grandeur of Badshahi Mosque and also visited the old city.

They said besides Rumi, their performance involved poetry from Turkish poets as well. The two-day expo concluded on Sunday evening.