Konya
Konya is situated at an altitude of 1010 meters in Central Anatolian plateau. Konya lies about 250 km south of Ankara and is one of the oldest still-inhabited cities of Anatolia. Today, with a population of over 1 million, Konya is known as the home of the philosopher-poet Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes. About 50 km. Southeast of Konya, the Catalhoyuk settlement dates back to 7500 BC. Although being only partly excavated and restored, Catalhoyuk settlement covers 15 acres and has a sophisticated town planning and buildings. Remains of other settlements are also discovered on the Konya plateau.
The name “Konya” was most probably derived by the Hittites who called the city as “Kuwanna”. This was about 3500 years ago. After the Hittites, the Phrygians called the city as “Kowania”, the Romans “Iconium”, the Byzantines “Lycanoia” and lastly the Turks “Konya”. According to the Book of Acts, Konya was visited by Saint Paul during the Roman governance. In Christian Legend, Konya (Iconium) was the birthplace of Saint Thecla. Because of its location on the ancient trade routes Konya was an important city during the Roman and Byzantine era. The city was then captured by the Seljuk Turks followed by the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 AD. From 1097 to 1243, Konya was the capital of the Seljuk Empire. Konya reached its peak of wealth and influence in this period adn became a great center of culture and arts in Anatolia. During this period, the Moslem philosopher and mystic Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi founded the sect of Whirling Dervishes in Konya. Mevlana Celaledin Rumi was born in 1207 in the town of Balkh in Khurasan (near Mezar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan) and then settled in Konya. Mevlana’s teachings expressed love as the path to spiritual growth and insight being broadly tolerant to all people and other faiths. Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi said with his poem;
Whoever you may be, come
Even though you may be an infidel, a pagan, or a fire-worshipper, come
Our brotherhood is not one of despair
Even though you have broken your vows of repentance a hundred times, come.
After his death, Mevlana’s son, Veled, founded the sect of the Whirling Dervishes, a Sufi brotherhood with its distinctive and circling dance, known as Sema and done by the dervishes. The Sema ceremony, held every year as a festival in Konya, represents the mystical journey of an individual on their ascent through mind and love to union. The ceremony is held in seven parts where the dervishes wear long white gowns and high, cone-shaped hats and dances for hours at a time. The nature of this dance is spinning the body from right to left which needs full concentration of the dervish.
One of the important buildings in Konya is a Byzantine church and several rock chapels filled with beautiful frescoes, which can be seen in the town of Sille, 8 km. from Konya, where the first rock carved monasteries of the world were built. Another must visit in Konya is Green Mausoleum of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi. The Mausoleum is now converted into a museum housing Mevlana's works in Konya. Every year in December, ceremonies are held in Konya for the commemoration of Mevlana and the Whirling Dervishes. On the Alaeddin Hill in Konya, is the same named mosque and palace which are great monuments built in the 13th century during the governance of the famous Seljuk Sultan, Alaeddin Keykubat. Karatay Medrese (university in Islam) in Konya, constructed in 1251 is now a museum which holds the best examples of Seljuk tiles and ceramics.