Head covered by an all-enveloping scarf, Lady Gabriella Windsor was hardly recognisable as she mingled with worshippers at a mosque in the Turkish city of Konya. On a visit to one of the country's holiest sites, the society beauty donned the modest attire to see local Sufis participate in the famous whirling dervish ceremony.
At the December festival devoted to Mevlana, a Sufi mystic and poet, the young royal sat in quiet contemplation, obviously intrigued by the age-old rituals.
Spanish and English literature-graduate Gabriella has always taken a keen interest in other cultures. Only last year she was accompanied by her parents, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, on a trip to India, where they were welcomed by the family of her boyfriend Aatish Taseer.
During her Turkish holiday the 24-year-old witnessed the highlight of the Sufi calendar, Seb-i Aruz, a ceremony in which dervishes whirl for up to a quarter of an hour as they attempt to reach a state of union with the divine.
She may also have found to time to stroll among Konya's many historic buildings which date back to the 11th-century. Although friendly and charming, the city is a quiet place, proud of its role as the guardian of the mystical traditions.
But it's only short hop away by plane to the vibrant city of Istanbul with its architecturally stunning mosques and palaces. And in the summer, of course, the magnificent coastline of the Aegean Sea beckons, with its olive groves, rocky crags and crystal-clear waters.
