KONYA TURKEY

Konya

Mevlana Museum

As the capital of the Seljuk Turks fromthe 12th to the 13th centuries, Konya ranks as one of thegreat cultural centers of Türkiye. During that period of cultural,political and religious growth, the mystic Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi foundeda Sufi order known in the West as the WhirlingDervishes.

The striking green-tiled mausoleum of Mevlana is Konya´smost famous building. Attached to the mausoleum, the former dervish seminarynow serves as a museum housing manuscript of Mevlana´s works andvarious artefacts related to the mysticism of the sect.

Every year during the first half of December, Şeb-iArus (Wedding Night) ceremony held in commemoration of MevlanaCelaleddin-i Rumi, with the controlled, trance-like turning or sema ofthe white-robed men creating a fascinating performance for the viewer.

NeolithicSite of Çatalhöyük 

Çatalhöyük is renowned as one ofthe earliest settlements of the Neolithic era, shedding lighton the dawn of human settlement with unique examplesof the earliest domestic architecture and landscape painting as wellas sacred objects of the mother-goddess cult.

The place where the first known settlement, thefirst urbanization and the first animal domestication tookplace in the world is Neolithic Sites of Çatalhöyük. It is onthe UNESCO World Heritage List since 2012.

The site has extraordinary arts and crafts, with theearliest finds dating from 7400BC, and it has been animportant key to unlocking the mysteries of the beginnings ofagriculture and civilization. The social organization of the Neolithicsite of Çatalhöyu¨k and its urban plan are believed to represent theideals of equality.

The tumulus shows that thehistory of mining in Anatolia dates back to the Neolithicera and provides ample evidence that people were involved inagriculture as well as hunting and gathering at that time. Çatalhöyu¨k isalso the first site in the world where a city plan is depicted in wallpaintings. Baked clay seals from the site show that theconcept of property ownership developed in that era. 

AlaeddinHill and Alaeddin Mosque

The Alaeddin hill in Konya´sKaratay district is one of the important prehistoricsettlements. The importance of this hill for art history, architecturalhistory, archeology, history science does not end with telling.

It is rumored that when Konya was thecapital of the Seljuk Empire, Sultan Alaeddin askedthe public to build a hill in the middle of the city to build a mosque.Thereupon, everyone in the city brought soil to the middle of the city andcreated this hill.

The Alaeddin Mosque, one of the most importanthistorical works that have survived until today, is located on the hill.

The Alaeddin Mosque was built on thesite of Konya´s old citadel dating from 1221 during the reign ofthe great Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat, and today commandsthe Konya skyline. To one side of the mosque are the remainsof the Seljuk Imperial Palace.

Today, besides its historical value, it has become afamous sightseeing and picnic area for the visitors to Konya. 

KaratayMadrasa Konya Tile Works Museum

Karatay Madrasah, which is used as Konya Tile WorksMuseum since 1955, was built by Emir Celâleddin Karatay in 1251 during thereign of the Seljuk Sultan II. Izzeddin Keykâvus.

The interiors of the madrasa are covered with mosaicand plate tiles. Its architect is estimated to be Muhammedbin Havlan. The madrasa was built with Sille stone.

The madrasa was built in the style ofthe "Medrese with Closed Courtyard" to teach hadith andtafsir during the Seljuk period. Its walls were built of stone, thedomes and vaults were made of brick.

It is located in the city center. 

InceMinaret Madrasa

Ince Minaret Madrasa, also known as the Stoneand Wood Works Museum, is in Selçuklu District. It is asingle-storey madrasa with a closed courtyard. It takes its name from itsminaret in the north-east corner.

It was built in 1264 during the period of SeljukSultan II. Izzeddin Keykavus by the Vizier Sâhib Ata FahreddinAli to teach hadith science.

The writings of the madrasa, which areaccepted as important examples of the art of calligraphy, are ofgreat importance. Especially its portal is considered to be one of the raredesigns where writing is heavily applied. 

Sille

Sille which is about 15 km awayfrom Konya city center has a special meaning for Anatoliancivilizations and is an important center of the earlyChristian period where cultures lived together in history.

It is a magnificent place and has important historicalbuildings (monasteries, churches, mosques, mansions, rockchapels with frescoes etc.) and natural beauties (dam lake, river,forest, etc.), whose settlement dates back to the Neolithic Age.One of the most famous of these is the Byzantine Aya Eleni church. 

Aya-ElenaChurch

In 327 AD, Helena, mother of theByzantine Emperor Constantin, stopped by Konya on her wayto Jerusalem for pilgrimage, saw the carved temples ofthe first Christian ages there, and decided to build a templefor Christians in Sille, in Konya´sSelçuklu district, 15 km from Konya. The Aya-ElenaChurch has been repaired for centuries and has come to this day. 

KonyanümaPanorama Museum

Konyanüma Panorama which is one of Türkiye´sthree largest panoramic museum is showing the social life of13th century Konya and Mevlevi culture.

The complex, which is located inwalking distance to the Mevlana Museum and built in accordancewith traditional Turkish Islamic art, takes its visitors to the13th century with the section consisting of oil paintings depictingthe life of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, as well as an open-airmuseum where examples of Mevlevi houses around theworld are exhibited with models.

It shows a great civilization with AlaaddinMosque, Eflatun Monastery, Bedesten Bazaar, magnificent mosques and inns. 

KonyaArchaeological Museum

The works belonging to the Neolithic, EarlyBronze, Hittite, Phrygian, Greek, Roman and Byzantine periodsare exhibited in the museum. The artifacts unearthed during the excavations in Çatalhöyük,Canhasan, Erbaba, Sızma, Karahöyük and Alaeddin Hill and Roman periodsarcophagi are exhibited in the museum. The museum is amust-visit place in Konya. 

AziziyeMosque

The temple built with the stoneGödene stone is one of the most beautiful examples of late Ottomanarchitecture. It is located in the city center. Sheikh Ahmed Mosque between1671 and 1676 in its place, was burned down, it was rebuilt in 1867 in the nameof Sultan Abdulaziz´s mother, Pertevniyal Valide Sultan. Built inthe style of the Turkish Baroque, the mosque´s windows arelarger than its doors. 

KilistraAncient City

This Ancient City is located 45kilometers south-west of Konya, in the town of Hatunsaray(Lystra), in the Gökurt Village of Meram. Kilistra,which was the scene of intense settlement in the Hellenistic and Romanperiods and grew rapidly in the Early Christian Period,gained an architectural texture similar to Cappadocia overtime.

Kilistra stands out because itis an important place in the life of St. Paulus and containsvaluable examples such as churches, chapels, monasteries, watchtowers,shelters, ancient roads, ceramic workshops in terms of architecture.

It is located on the historical Royal Road (ViaSebaste). Strategically important, Lystra is one of thefive centers in the southern ends of the Roman Empire where EmperorAugustus made a military colony. In the same period, the majority ofthe people of Lystra joined the new religion of SaintPaulus and Barnabas, who traveled Anatolia (49-56AD). 

EflatunpınarHittite Water Monument

The Hittites left various tangiblecultural assets reflecting their state structure, social, economic andreligious life during their reign for about a thousand years. One of these isEflatunpınar Hittite Water Monument which is located 22 kmaway from Beyşehir District.

The monument is built in the form ofa rectangular pool and is fed by a nearby water source.The most striking part of the pool, which measures about 30meters by 34 meters, is the high wall with relief figures risingon the north wall, built with large stone blocks. On the south facing surface,there is the Storm God and the Sun Goddess in the middle.

This monument is one of the raremonuments not only in terms of its appearance, layout and iconography,but also in terms of technology and craftsmanship used duringits construction. 

In 2014, it was included in the UNESCO WorldHeritage Tentative List as the Hittite Sacred Water Temple. 

NasreddinHodja Archeology and Ethnography Museum

In the museum, in Akşehir district,the works are exhibited in the rooms that are divided into periodschronologically. There are rooms where the descriptions of NasreddinHodja´s funny anecdotes and the bridal room ofAkşehir and ethnographic artifacts are exhibited.

Gülmece Park (park for laugh) islocated opposite Nasreddin Hodja Tomb. Hosting small sculpturesbased on the funny anecdotes of Nasreddin Hodja, the master ofTurkish humor, Gülmece Park offers a very entertaining environment especiallyfor children.