TR · Central Anatolia · 37.87°N 32.49°E

konya

Rumi's turquoise-domed shrine, Seljuk tilework and long, thin etli ekmek fresh from the oven.

Best time
April–June and September–October are mild. Summer is hot and dry; winter is cold, but from 7 to 17 December the Şeb-i Arus festival marks Rumi's death with sema ceremonies every night.
How long
2 days
Getting there
Fly with one stop via Istanbul, about 14–16 hours all in, or take the high-speed train from Ankara, about 2 hours. The airport is about 30 minutes from the centre. Turkey is 5 hours behind KL all year.
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TR · Central Anatoliakonya37.87°N 32.49°Egowherelah.com
Dear group chat,Rumi's turquoise-domed shrine, Seljuk tilework and long, thin etli ekmek fresh from the oven.— gowherelahTo: whoever’s drivingKonyaTR, Central Anatolia
KLkonya
≈ 7,976 km from KL, as the crow flies
Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey.

Photo: Emad Nemati · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each.

Konya is Rumi's city, built around the turquoise-domed shrine of the poet and home to the Mevlevi order of whirling dervishes. It's more devout than most Turkish cities, with Seljuk tilework and metre-long etli ekmek to fill the time between visits.

Makan

  1. Etli ekmekKonya's 'pizza': a metre-long strip of thin bread topped with minced meat and baked in a wood oven.Map ↗
  2. Fırın kebabıLamb slow-roasted in a stone oven until it falls apart, served on bread.Map ↗
  3. Bamya çorbasıA tangy soup of tiny dried okra and meat.Map ↗

Things to do

  1. Mevlana MuseumRumi's tomb under the turquoise dome, inside the old dervish lodge with its cells and instruments.Map ↗
  2. Karatay MedreseA Seljuk college whose dome is lined with blue and black tiles, now a tile museum.Map ↗
  3. Alaeddin HillA park-covered mound in the centre, topped by the Seljuk sultans' mosque.Map ↗
  4. SilleAn old Greek village 20 minutes out of town, with stone houses and the Byzantine Aya Eleni church.Map ↗
  5. ÇatalhöyükThe excavated mounds of one of the world's oldest towns, lived in some 9,000 years ago, about an hour away.Map ↗

Good to know

  • The sema is a religious ceremony, not a show, so there's no clapping and no flash.
  • Meat is halal as standard, and alcohol is rare in Konya.

Last checked October 2026. Things change, so check opening times, fees and transport before you go.