Konya

Almost 4000 years ago the Hittites called this city Kuwanna, the Phrygians – Kowania, the Romans – Iconium, and the Turks – Konya. An important provincial town since ancient times, Konya experienced its heyday in the 13th century when it was a capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum. This was the time when dozens of fine buildings were built in an architectural style decidedly Turkish. Standing in the middle of the vast Anatolian steppe, Konya is like a traditional caravan stopping-place.

In recent years it has been a boom town. The barren-looking steppe is in fact good for growing grain and Konya is the heart of Turkey’s very rich ‘bread basket’. Light industry provides jobs for those who are not farmers. Much of the city was built within the last two ‘boom’ decades but the center is very old. Konya’s real charm lies in this juxtaposition of old with new. Here you’ll find ancient architecture along Mevlana Caddesi and the elbow-room-only quarters of the market district, awash with eastern smells and Muslim pilgrims. Just west is the modern area of town around Alaettin Tapesi, where hip-looking university students – with barely a headscarf in sight – hang out to giggle and gossip in the tea gardens. Nevertheless, many people in Konya are devoutly Muslims. Take a special care not to upset the pious especially in mosques and the Mevlana Museum.