Konya in Turkey, known as Iconium in Roman days, is among the oldest occupied cities in the world. It was the capital of the Seljuk Turks, and it was here in the 13th century that the poet Mevlana Rumi inspired the founding of the whirling dervishes, one of the Islamic mystical orders. This cult believed that dancing was the way to get close to God. You can see the dervishes whirl in the Mevlana Festival every December.

The outstanding Seljuk buildings are the Buyuk Karatay Muzesi, a Muslim theological seminary earlier, but now a ceramic museum; the Seminary of the Slender Minaret, which is now the Museum of Wood and Stone carving. Mevlana’s tomb has a beautiful green tiled tower. 

The Tourist Office telephone number is (332) 351 1074 and fax number is (332) 350 6461. 

For more detailed country and visitor information, see Turkey