Konya

About — Konya

Konya is reached from Istanbul by 6–8 daily flights (1 hour 15 minutes) or by high-speed train via Ankara (Ankara–Konya 1 hour 45 minutes). From Cappadocia it is 3 hours by road, with a stop at the 13th-century Seljuk caravanserai of Sultanhani; this is the most practical route for combining Cappadocia and Konya. The city centre is small and flat; the Mevlana Museum, Alaaddin Hill and the bazaar are all within walking distance of each other.

The heart of Konya is the mausoleum of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi; the green-domed tomb, the dervish cells, manuscripts of the Masnavi and the chamber holding a hair from the beard of the Prophet Muhammad are open daily and free to enter. On Saturday evenings the sema ceremony at the Mevlana Cultural Centre is free to watch; it is an act of worship, so silence and respect are required. Other monuments of the Seljuk capital: Alaaddin Mosque (1220), Karatay Madrasa, now a tile museum, and the Ince Minareli Madrasa. Every year on 17 December the anniversary of Mevlana's death is marked by the Seb-i Arus ceremonies, when hotels fill months ahead.

Family tips: Konya is one of Türkiye's most conservative cities; halal food and prayer facilities are everywhere and alcohol is rare in restaurants. Etli ekmek and oven kebab are must-tries; the historic restaurants around the Mevlana Museum are the best addresses. Mevlana candy is a gift children love. Summer is 35°C and dry, winter –10°C with snow. A headscarf is required inside the mausoleum; photography is allowed but flash is not.

City Guide — Konya

Konya (Latin: Iconium) is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Türkiye and its seventh most populous city. Excavations have shown that the region was inhabited during the Late Copper Age, around 3000 BC; the city came under the influence of the Hittites around 1500 BC and later passed under the Phrygians, the Persians, Alexander the Great, the Seleucids, the kings of Pergamon and Rome. Saint Paul and Barnabas preached in Iconium during the First Missionary Journey in about 47-48 AD. Conquered by the Seljuk Turks in 1084 after the Battle of Manzikert, the city was the capital of the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate from 1097 to 1243, and its name was changed to Konya by Rukn al-Din Mas'ud in 1134. Konya reached the height of its wealth and influence from the second half of the 12th century, when the Anatolian Seljuk sultans also subdued the beyliks to their east, establishing their rule over virtually all of eastern Anatolia and acquiring ports on the Mediterranean (including Alanya) and the Black Sea (including Sinop); this golden age lasted until the first decades of the 13th century. By the 1220s the city was filled with refugees from the Khwarezmid Empire fleeing the Mongol advance; Sultan Ala al-Din Kayqubad fortified the town, built a palace on top of the citadel and in 1228 invited Bahaeddin Veled and his son Mevlana (Rumi), the founder of the Mevlevi order, to settle in Konya. In 1243, following the Seljuk defeat at the Battle of Kose Dag, Konya was captured by the Mongols, but remained the capital of the Seljuk sultans as vassals of the Ilkhanate. Today the Mevlana Museum and the Sema ceremonies draw visitors from all over the world.