Konya
The seat of the same-named province and the seventh-largest city in Turkey, Konya is situated north of the Taurus Mountains on the southern edge of the Anatolian plateau. The metropolitan area, which has over two million residents and a thriving industrial sector, is located at an elevation of 1016 meters.
Brief history
The area was occupied starting around 3000 B.C., according to excavations. Up to 333 B.C., it was governed in turn by the Phrygians, Cimmerians, and Persian Empire. It was ruled by the Kings of Pergamon until Alexander the Great fought Darius III, at which point it became a part of the Roman Empire.
After the Seljuks acquired control in 1084, Konya served as the Sultanate of Rum’s capital from 1097 to 1243 until becoming a part of the Ottoman Empire in 1420.
As the final burial place of Mevlana Jalal al-Din Rumi, the founder of the Sufi Mevlevi Order, well renowned for its Whirling Dervishes, Konya has grown into a significant pilgrimage site.
He was born in Balkh (current-day Afghanistan) in 1207 and passed away in Konya in 1273. He was taught Sufism by his father, well-known scholars, and Sufi masters. He is one of the finest Sufi poets of Islam.
He underwent a profound spiritual transformation into an ecstatic Sufi master, author of exquisite poetry and couplets rich in wisdom and significance, after encountering the traveling dervish Shams al-Din from Tabriz (Iran). Shams and Mevlana are said to have met at the confluence of two seas and two oceans.
Main places of interest
- Mevlana Mausoleum and Museum
- Aladdin, Aziziye and Selimiye Mosques
- Sirçali and Karatay Madrasas
- Mausoleum of Shams Tabriz
- Archeological, Ethnographic, Atatürk and Ince Minare Museums
- St Paul’s Catholic Cathedral
- Tropical Garden of Butterflies
- Japanese Park
- 42-storey Seljuk Tower
Excursions out of town
Sille
Medieval-fashioned buildings, a mosque, tombs, the underground hammam of Haci Ali Aga, and the Church of St. Elena were all originally commissioned in 327 by Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantin the Great. Sille (8 km) is an old village divided by a watercourse along the main street.
Ancient troglodyte dwellings dot the hills overlooking the village.
Cattalhöyük
One of the most significant neolithic archeological sites in the Near East, dating back to 7500 B.C., is Cattalhöyük (65 kilometers). It is constructed on two mounds that total 37 hectares. It was first found in 1951, and in 2012, Unesco added it to its list of world heritage sites.
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