Selçuk/Ephesus - Turkey tel +90-(0)232-892-6050 fax +90-(0)232-892-1594 info@anzguesthouse.com

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Konya

Konya's History

At the center of town there's a park built over a small hill surrounded by a traffic circle. That's Alaettin Tepesi, Turkish for "Ala'adin's Hill". It's a Bronze-age tell, or mound. There was a settlement here long ago!

Çatak Hüyük is close to Konya. It's the site of the earliest known community in the world. This area has been populated for a very long time.

It was already extremely old when the Romans made it into a major city they called Iconium.

The later Arabs, Persians, and Seljuk Turks called it Rum, as in "Rome", after the previous civilization that had built much of what they found.

Recent Turks have gone back to calling it Konya, as in "Iconium", the name the Romans used. Now, what did those Bronze-age people call it? No one knows...

Practical matters —

Konya is well-connected by bus, with its otogar or bus station on the edge of the city. It is just about three hours between Konya and any of Ankara, Göreme, Adana (and Olimpos), and only four or five to Denizli (and Pamukkale).

If you buy your bus ticket at an office in the city, they may be able to give you a ride to the otogar in a servis, or minivan shuttle. However, that locks you into a limited choice of bus companies, and thus schedules. It's better to take the tram from Alaettin Tepesi to the otogar and buy your tickets from the wide array of bus companies. Click here for more about buses in Turkey.

There are two overnight trains traveling İstanbul — Eskişehir — Afyon — Konya. Click here for more about trains in Turkey.
Southbound:
Meram Ekspresi leaves İstanbul 1920, arrives Konya 0821.
Içandolu Ekspresi leaves İstanbul 2350, arrives Konya 1215.
Northbound:
Meram Ekspresi leaves Konya 1750, arrives İstanbul 0630.
Içandolu Ekspresi leaves Konya 2058, arrives İstanbul 0909.

The Otel Derviş seems like a good place to stay. Nice room, low prices, on the edge of the bazaar just a few blocks from the Mevlâna Shrine.

What's it like to visit Konya?

Is Konya an "overly religious" place to visit? Not at all!

As a non-Turk you will be in a tiny minority there, but that's it. And you will still be in Turkey, which means that you will be made to feel extremely welcome as an honored guest.

Some people dress conservatively in Konya. But some dress very, well, non-conservatively. You would assume that many of the other visitors at the Mevlâna Shrine, are from western European countries. That is, if they weren't speaking Turkish...

The main attraction in Konya is the shrine and tomb of a holy man, yes. But it's Mevlâna Rumi, the founder of a Sufi school of thought that is very open and welcoming — see below.

Celaleddin Rumi, or Mevlâna

Celaleddin Rumi, or "Celaleddin from Rum", became known as Rumi or Mevlâna. He was one of the world's great mystic philosophers. He founded the Mevlevi Derviş order of Sufiism, known in the west as the Whirling Dervishes. He lived in Rum, now Konya, where he wrote the Persian poetry that is still a popular seller. His tomb is in the Mevlâna Shrine, where other Sufi mystics are buried. The blue-green tiles and Seljuk architecture give it a more Central Asian atmosphere than much of what you find elsewhere in Turkey.

Rumi was born in 1207 in Balkh, in today's Afghanistan. Hs family fled the Mongol invasion by moving to Mecca, then to the Sultanate of Rum, based in Konya, arriving there in 1228.

His father, Baha'uddin, was a noted preacher. After his father's death in 1231 Rumi studied in Aleppo and Damascus and returned to Konya by 1240.

In 1244 he met Mehmet Şemseddin Tehrizi, called Şemsi Tebrizi, one of this father's Sufi disciples. Tebrizi had a profound influence on Rumi.

Rumi's followers were jealous, and killed Tebrizi in 1247. Stunned by the loss, Rumi withdrew from the world to meditate and wrote his great poetic work, the Mathnawi (or Mesnevi in Turkish).

He wrote many ruba'i and ghazal poems, collected into his "Great Opus", the Divan-i Kebir. His poetry and religious writings are mostly in Persian, the literary language of the day, and are among the most beloved and respected in the Islamic world. One of his more famous pieces contains this verse, posted in several languages at the shrine:

He became known as Mevlâna, meaning "Our Guide". After his death on 17 December 1273, his son Sultan Veled organized his followers into the Mevlevi Derviş, or Whirling Dervish Sufi order.

When Atatürk founded the modern nation of Turkey, he disbanded the many religious orders including the Whirling Dervishes. This was out of concern that they would try to influence politics.

The constitution of Turkey requires a strict separation of religion and government. Most Turkish political leaders are devout believers, but they have to be very careful to keep that separate from their government work.

	This is Rumi's tomb inside the shrine. Konya gets a lot of visitors, and most of them are Turkish. Don't worry, you will definitely be made to feel very welcome! And, you will be seeing the Turkey of the Turks. No cruise ship mobs here. Below you see other Sufi saints' tombs within the shrine. Notice the green covers and turbans on the tombs.

Seljuk Architecture

	Ince Minare Medresesi, or the Seminary of the Slender Minaret. Notice the elaborate carving on the gateway, and the tile work on the minaret. This is on the traffic circle around Alaettin Tepesi. The trend of naming most everything after Ala'adin started during the Seljuk Sultanate of 1150-1300.
	Gateway at Ince Minare Medresesi. What a lot of detail!
	Looking up the Slender Minaret.
	Gateway at Büyük Karatay Medressi, or the Great Karatay Seminary. This was an important Seljuk-era theological school. Now it houses a very nice tile museum.
	Gateway at Büyük Karatay Medressi, or the Great Karatay Seminary.

Evening in Konya

The Mevlâna Shrine at sunset. This is the view from a rooftop restaurant just across from the shrine's gardens.

Night-time view across the front of Azizye Camii (Mosque) toward the Mevlâna Shrine.

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Selçuk/Ephesus - Turkey tel +90-(0)232-892-6050 fax +90-(0)232-892-1594 info@anzguesthouse.com

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