Central Anatolia
Konya & the Mevlâna
The spiritual heart of Türkiye, where the 13th-century Sufi poet Rumi taught and is buried beneath a turquoise-tiled dome. His mausoleum-museum and the mesmerising sema ceremony of the whirling dervishes draw pilgrims from every faith.
- Where
- Konya, Central Anatolia
- Best time
- Year-round; Rumi festival in December
- Getting there
- High-speed trains reach Konya in ~2 h from Ankara and ~4.5 h from Istanbul; the airport (KYA) has daily Istanbul flights.
- Eat & drink
- Etli ekmek — a metre of thin flatbread with spiced lamb — plus fırın kebabı (oven-roasted mutton) and okra soup, Konya's wedding classic.
- Tip
- See an authentic sema ceremony (Saturdays at the Mevlâna Cultural Centre) and try etli ekmek, Konya’s metre-long flatbread.
The story
“Come, come, whoever you are” — the invitation attributed to Jalal ad-Din Rumi, the 13th-century Sufi mystic and poet, still defines his city. Konya was the capital of the Seljuk sultans when Rumi's family arrived fleeing the Mongols, and their finest architecture survives: the turquoise-domed shrine where he lies, the İnce Minareli and Karatay madrasas with their star-spangled tile vaults, and Alaeddin Mosque on its ancient mound.
Rumi's followers founded the Mevlevi order — the whirling dervishes — whose sema ceremony turns grief into a slow, spinning meditation. See a genuine one on a Saturday evening at the Mevlâna Cultural Centre (it's worship, not a show — no applause). December brings Şeb-i Arus, the anniversary of Rumi's “wedding night” with the divine, when pilgrims and poetry readers fill the city. Modern Konya is pious, prosperous and calm — Türkiye at its most serene.
In pictures
