Konya, Turkiye

Konya is the home to the Mevlana fraternity of Sufi Islam and the Whirling Dervishes. We only had a couple of days in Konya and unfortunately I did my back and couldn’t really walk so R and the kids explored it with our friends but without me.

Konya has a long history dating back to about 3000 BC. At different times throughout history, it was occupied by the Hittites, the Phrygians, Greeks, Byzantines, Romans, Persians, Mongols and the Ottomans. It was known as Ikonion (Greek) and Ikonium (Latin). Legend has it that it got its name from the word ‘icon’ from when Perseus scared off the native population when he showed them an image of Medusa’s head before founding the town.

Here are some photos of around town and a couple from the Mevlana museum:

Konya is known for the Mevlana fraterinty of Sufism founded by Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi. Apparently he came to the town when he was 19 to escape the Mongol invasion. He had a life changing encounter with some wandering Dervishes which turned him into a mystic and poet. The Mevlani (also known as Mevlevi) order was founded after his death in 1273 which is the order that the Whirling Dervishes are part of. Rumi is buried in the Mevlana museum, which used to be where the Dervishes lived, along with family members and other important people.

The religious dance performed by the Whirling Dervishes is called the Sema. The whirling motion is the soul’s orbit to divine love. After walking around the town, they went to see the Sema in the evening.

Next stop: Antalya