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South of Ankara
 Konya, one of Turkey's oldest
continuously inhabited cities was known as Iconium in Roman
times. The capital of the Seljuk Turks from the 12th to the
13th century, it ranks as one of the great cultural centres of
Turkey. During this period of artistic, political and
religious growth, the mystic Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi founded a
Sufi Order known in the West as the Whirling Dervishes. The
striking green tiled mausoleum of Mevlana is Konya's most
famous building. Attached to the mausoleum the former dervish
seminary serves now as a museum devoted to manuscripts of
Mevlana's works and various artifacts related to the mysticism
of the sect.. Every year, in the first half of December, this
still active religious order holds a ceremony commemorating
the Whirling Dervishes. The controlled, almost trance-like
turning of the white robed men creates a mystical experience
for the viewer.
 Alaeddin Mosque, built on the
site of the ancient citadel in 1220 during the reign of the
great Seljuk sultan Alaeddin Keykubat, commands Konya's
skyline. To one side of the mosque are the scant remains of
the Seljuk Imperial Palace. The Karatay Medrese, now a museum,
displays bald and striking Seljuk ceramics. On the other side
of the mosque the Ince Minareli Medrese of 1258 is remarkable
for its marvellous baroque Seljuk portal. Other Seljuk works
include the Sirзali Medrese and the Sahip Ata Complex.
Visitors find Konya's Archaeological Museum of exceptional
interest. The collection of the Koyunoglu Museum is a varied
one, and among its displays one is devoted to natural history
while another to old kilims. Within the museum complex the
restored Izzettin Koyunoglu house illustrates the way of life
of a prosperous Konya family.
Sille, 10 km north of Konya, has a Byzantine church and
several rock chapels with frescoes. Aksehir, to the northwest,
is known throughout Turkey as the birthplace of the 13th
century humorist Nasrettin Hoca, whose mausoleum stands in the
town. The 13th century Ulu Mosque and the Altinkale Mescidi
are other monuments worth seeing; the Sahip Ata Mausoleum has
been converted into the town's museum.
On the way south to Beysehir stop at Eflatun Pinar next to
the lake to see this unusual Hittite monumental fountain.
Several interesting Seljuk buildings are scattered around
lovely Beysehir, on the shores of Turkey's third largest lake,
Beysehir Lake. Among the monuments are the Esrefoglu Mosque
and Medrese, and the Kubad-Abad Summer Palace across the lake.
Another medieval palace stands on Kizkalesi Island, opposite
the Kubad-Abad palace.
Зatalhцyьk, 45 km south of Konya, is a fascinating
Neolithic site dating from the eight millennium B.C., which
makes it one of the world's oldest towns. Archaeologists have
determined that holes in the roofs of the mud houses were the
entrance doors. Ankara's Museum of Anatolian Civilisations
displays the famous temple, mother-goddess figures and
Neolithic frescoes from the site. At Ivriz, a Hittite site 168
km east of Konya, you can see one of Turkey's finest
neo-Hittite reliefs of a king and fertility god. Karaman, once
the capital of the Karamanid Emirate, was the first Turkish
state to use Turkish, not Persian, as the official language.
Fittingly, Yunus Emre, the first great poet to write in
Turkish, lived here in the 13th century. The surrounding
fortresses date from Seljuk times, although the town's most
significant buildings, the Araboglu, Yunus Emre and Aktekke
Mosques and the Hatuniye Medrese, were all built during the
Karamanid reign.
Near Taskale, 48 km east of Karaman, on the rocky northern
slope of Yesildere Valley, are the remains of the fascinating,
historical city of Manazan. Built during Byzantine times, the
entire city of narrow lanes, houses, squares, storage
facilities, chapels and cemeteries (occupying an area
approximately three kilometres long and five stories high) was
carved into the rocky hillside of the valley. Today parts of
the city are still used for wheat storage. South of Karaman up
a steep narrow road are the remains of a beautiful Byzantine
monastery, Alahan. Much still stands, and there is some fine
stone carving to admire. This magnificent location offers a
breathtaking view.
Central Anatolia
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