Konya is a city in Central Anatolia in Turkey, known as the city of "whirling dervishes" and for its outstanding Seljuk architecture. In 2021 Konya metropolis had a population of 2,277,017, the sixth largest in Turkey, but the area of most interest is compact.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
Konya has been inhabited at least since 3000 BC: cultures we know of include the Hittites, Sea Peoples (the Philistines of Canaan), Phrygians, Cimmerians, Greeks, Romans and Persians. In 47 AD St Paul and his followers were run out of town in Antioch and began preaching here, with the same result. But Konya is best known as the capital of the Sultanate of Rum, established in the late 11th century in former Byzantine territory. The poet and Sufi thinker Rumi settled in the early 13th century. The city's heritage thus stems from this Selçuk golden age.
Walk the central district, most sites are within 1 km or so. Trams run 06:00 to midnight. Line 1 runs north-south from Selçuk University via the bus terminal and Selçuklu YHT station to Zafer / Alaaddin Hill in city centre. Line 2 runs east-west from Alifbey via the Mevlana Cultural Centre and Mevlana Cd to Zafer / Alaadin Hill. They loop the hill then head back out. Trams and public buses don't take cash, you need a KonyaKart (previously called ElKart). Buy it at the bus or railway station and many tram stops, and top up at convenience stores, tram stops, and on the town official mobile app (Android, iOS).
1 Mevlana Museum (Mausoleum of Rumi), Mevlana Cd 1, ☏ +90 332 351 1215. Daily 09:00-17:00. Rumi (1207–1273) was a Persian poet, philosopher and teacher who lived in Konya after the Byzantine Romans had been ousted but the area was still known as "Rum". He's known in Turkish as Mevlana, "the master", or more snappily as Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi; he was originally from Balkh, and came to Konya as a refugee from the Mongol invasion.He taught a mystic Sufi interpretation of Islam and rituals in his lifetime included music.
1 Sema (Whirling dervish ceremony), Mevlana Cultural Centre. Sema is the authentic dervish ceremony, traditionally held in the Centre on Saturday at 19:00 winter, 20:00 summer. During the weeks culminating in the Şeb-i Arûs, "reunion night", commemorating Rumi's death on Dec 17, the ceremonies are held as frequently as twice daily. 100–250 TL; tickets are sold online. (updated Nov 2023) Mystic Music Festival celebrates global music similar to the Mevlana mystic tradition. The next is probably 21-29 Sept 2023, tbc. Football: Konyaspor play soccer in Süper Lig, the country's top tier.
Local cuisine centres on wheat/bread and mutton. That's one in the eye for Mevlana, himself a strict vegan. Etliekmek is a very long thin pizza with meat or cheese, as if the delivery rider had lost an argument with a steamroller. Tandır kebap is soft and juicy lamb meat slowly cooked in a wood-fired oven. Okra soup (bamya çorbası) is baby okra and chunks of meat cooked in sweet-sour pomegranate molasses. Local snacks and desserts include gevrek, stubby baguettes with butter, sesame and fennel seeds, and Konya sarması, crunchy rolls filled with whipped cream. Sifa, Mevlana Cd 69 (northwest side of Mevlana Museum), ☏ +90 332 352 0519. Daily 09:00-23:45.
Some cafes serve beer, but Konya is conservative and lacks bars and nightlife. Yeshill Coffee within Think Hotel has power sockets at every table and Wi-Fi.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Aug, Konya typically sees ~33°C daytime highs and 2 rainy days.
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