Konya - Land of the Whirling Dervishes

June 7

Konya, The land of the Whirling Dervishes

After a 10 hour bus ride from Malatya west and south across rugged mountains and long stretches of green farmland plains, we arrived, hot tired and ready to just relax in our Air BnB into the city of Konya. Once the beating drum of the Ottoman Seljuk Empire, it is now a city of whirling dervishes and tranquil parks, where the saffron glow of the day dissolves into cobalt nights. From the towering Alaeddin Mosque to the mystic legacy of Rumi, Konya is a bridge between the ancient past the modernity of the present day.

From the main bus terminal, we donned our backpacks and walked the short distance to the modern tramway that whisked us into the heart of Konya, and, as it happens, only a few short blocks from our Air Bnb. The next morning, we made our way to the Aladdin Keykubad Mosque. Built on Aladdin Hill, it dates back to the 12^th century and serves as a spiritual anchor for the city.

The Mosque itself is quite a pilgrimage site and visitors from all over Turkey travel here to pay their respects in these grand hallowed halls. The mosque itself was originally built as a church during the reign of the Byzantine empire in the 4^th century and later was converted to a mosque when the Seljuk Turks became the governing force in the area.

This pulpit made of inlayed wood pieces dates back to the 12th century AD

Konya once was the heart of the empire and saw the rise of the Mevlevi Order of Muslim Faith. Today it is known as Sufisim and was based upon the great founder of the order, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi. Born in Afghanistan, Rumi spent most of his life here in Konya.

Sufism involves poetry, song and dance in a sort of mystical and hypnotic combination in order to attempt to attain divine enlightenment. The whirling dervishes spin in circling groups until their dizziness puts them in a trance-like state. Apparently, this sort of meditative experience can bring one closer to God.

This area is known for delicious lamb dishes and our time here did not disappoint. A dinner at a famous restaurant by the name of Nezih Konya Mutfagi left us unwanting for food for the next two days. Delicious, melt in your mouth, tender lamb was on the menu and our pile of meat, accompanied by rice and a host of other savory and spicy toppings provided more than enough both gastronomically and olfactorily and visually to put us in a sort of Whirling Dervish like dance of our own.

Amazing Lamb Dinner in Konya

Speaking of Whirling Dervishes, we had the opportunity to see them for ourselves. Although it is primarily a religious ceremony, the Whirling Dervishes put on a sort of religious show that is both educational and entertaining. Seeing them was probably my highlight of the city adventure.

Konya is also known as a center of Turkish rugs, both machine made and hand woven. As with all things, modernization throughout the world has rendered the creation of hand made wool rugs a dying art with less and less being woven each year. Machines and mechanization have taken over the old weavers positions and the children of these weavers are finding themselves less and less interested in the craft that their parents held, choosing, and rightly so, to find their livings being made in the modern world instead. Nevertheless, remaining supplies of older rugs remain, still new, still unsold, and still looking for a worthy owner. We spent the better part of our last day in Konya choosing just the right rug to be sent home to the USA.

Interestingly, the rug I found that I fell in love with was woven in generally the same area as the rug my parents once owned. The type of design is indicative of the origination of any rug and it may have been more than coincidence that my tastes gravitated to what I had grown up with. It was only that I never knew the area that the rug had my parents owned had originated from. What a joy it was for me to realize the history of my own parents rug that had been in the family for 60+ years.

Looks like I found the rug to buy!

Just outside of Konya is the town of Sille.  It's a short city bus ride west and up into the hills.  Sille used to have quite an Armenian presence although the Armenians were extirpated years ago.  Today it is a village that is on the edge of a semi-arid, mountainous wilderness, slowly being encroached upon by an ever expanding Konya.

We spent the morning hiking in the canyon just outside of town and coming upon an old aqueduct and some caves.

A hike up a rough trail brought us to this aqueduct 

Lens flare in just the right spot gives Gary a virtual light saber