3-Day-Tour of Konya, Cappadocia and Ankara

The shrine was built in 1274. Although it is mentioned in the literature that a lodge was built next to the shrine of Mevlana immediately after his death, it could not survive to the present day. Other structures of the dervish lodge are the Semahane, where Sema rites are being performed, masjid, dedegan cells, kitchen and shad-irvan (water-tank with a fountain), which was built in the 16th century. After the death of Mevlana, Çelebi Husameddin, his close friend and personal assistant, became a sheikh for the people who loved Mevlana.

tifacts in stone or in wood are on display in Ince Minaret Madrasa, also in Konya. The collection of Karatay Museum was particularly enriched by the finds collected as of the 1970s in Kubadabad Palace royal summer residence on Lake Beyşehir shore, at eighty miles from Konya to the west.

er of the Seljuk Sultan Izzeddin Keykavus, for hadith studies. The architect of the building is Abdullah Bin Keluk. The madrasah belongs to the group of madrasas with closed courtyards of the Seljuk period. It has a single iwan. The crown gate to the east is one of the best examples of Seljuk period stone workmanship. The crown gate is decorated with verses from Surah Al-Fath and Surah Yasin and floral and geometric motifs. Building and restored inscriptions written on stone and marble by carving technique, high reliefs of Konya Castle, geometric and window sashes, made by carving technique on various wood material, wooden ceiling roses and marble tombstones and sarcophagi of Seljuk, Karamanoğlu and Ottoman periods are exhibited in the museum.

n the Cappadocia region, especially around Göreme. Although they were independent of monasteries and churches, they were an important social community. What made Cappadocia the centre of religious thought and life in the 3rd century was the presence of clergy with powerful character. In the following century, the region was known as the hometown of the three great clergy. These were the Bishop of Kaisareia, Basileios, his brother Gregorios of Nyssagia and Gregorios of Nazianus. Basileios, known as the ‘Great’, returned to his hometown, Kaisareia, the headquarters of the Cappadocia region, to devote himself to the monastic life. He was also effective in spreading the monastery life collectively.

a “negative” architecture, created by removing rather than adding material, its central dome showing the imposing figure of Christ Pantocrator (the All-Powerful), initially carried by four columns - only one of which remains today, leaving the dome seemingly afloat. Arches spring from the columns to pilasters, engaged columns attached to the walls, forming corner bays which are also roofed by small cupolas depicting the Archangels. Three apses define the sanctuary area on the eastern side of the church. In the central apse, fragments of an originally tall altar screen and of the rounded altar still remain in place. All in all, an interior space that had assimilated architectural and functional elements of built monuments and was transformed into the most fashionable compound church plan of its time, utilising the properties of the soft and easily sculpted local volcanic tuff.

he southeastern part of the region of Cappadocia. The valley contains several rock-cut churches and other rock-cut buildings, carved from the soft tuff stone of the Cappadocian landscape. The village of Aşağı Soğanlı ('Lower Soğanlı') is located at the southeastern end of the valley. The valley splits into northern and southern sections at the village of Yukarı Soğanlı ('Upper Soğanlı'). The valley was inhabited by Byzantine monks from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD. They are responsible for around a hundred churches that have been found in the valley and connected rock-cut houses and cloisters, most of which are now buried, ruined, or used as stables. There are also notable dovecotes carved into the cliffs, with entry holes marked out on the cliff using white paint.

ley, which becomes gradually wider, called as Red Valley. By the beginning of 20th century, the village had a composed population with many Christian Orthodox families. The houses of the village were cut into massive rock formations. The insides of many of the dwellings are exposed to natural erosions such as rain, wind and earthquakes too. They are covered in rubble, huge rocks and boulders. You can climb up to top of the village through a twisty path, which offers breathtaking views of Red Valley and Uchisar Castle. There is also a church called as St. John the Baptist from 5th century on top of the village. This church is the second oldest church in Cappadocia and has a unique fresco of "The Murder of St. John" even though the other paintings have been destroyed.

Highly remarkable earth pillars can be seen here, in the middle of a vineyard, hence the name of the place which means: the Pacha's vineyard. Pacha means "General", the military rank, in Turkish and it is a very common nick name. This site is also called Monks Valley. The name was derived from some cones carved in tuff stones which stand apart. Currently, there is a vineyard and a number of tuff cones standing right next to the road. Some of these cones split into smaller cones in their upper sections, in which stylites and hermits once hid. The hermitage of Simeon monks was also here. A chapel dedicated to St. Simeon (Simon), and a hermit's shelter is built into one of the fairy chimneys with three heads. The entrance of the cell is decorated with antithetical crosses. Saint Simeon was living in seclusion near Aleppo in the 5th century, when rumours that he made miracles started to spread.

Caves may have first been built in the soft volcanic rock by the Phrygians, an Indo-European people, in the 8th–7th centuries B.C., according to the Turkish Department of Culture.[2][dead link] When the Phrygian language died out in Roman times, replaced with Greek,[3] to which it was related,[4] the inhabitants, now Christians, expanded their caverns adding the chapels and inscriptions. The city was greatly expanded and deepened in the Byzantine era, when it was used for protection from Muslim Arab raids during the four centuries of Arab–Byzantine wars (780-1180).[5][6] The city was connected with Derinkuyu underground city through miles of tunnels. Some artifacts discovered in these underground settlements belong to the Middle Byzantine Period, between the 5th and the 10th centuries A.D. These cities continued to be used by the Christian inhabitants as protection from the Mongolian incursions of Timur in the 14th century.

ounding landscape of valleys, mountains, and towns. The tallest fairy chimney in Cappadocia is carved with numerous rooms, tunnels, stairs, rock tombs, and a large water cistern.

Since ancient times Pigeons have been used in the Cappadocia region for food and fertiliser for the infertile soil. While pigeons no longer play such an important role in the area, their rocky homes have still been maintained by locals and can be found atop rock pillars and inside excavated cave houses and churches throughout the region, however, they are particularly numerous in this valley. A great way to see Pigeon Valley is from above via a hot air balloon tour. Tours leave every morning just before sunrise so you will already be floating above the stunning landscape as the sun comes up.

he region is an amazing cave town, honeycombed with dwellings, religious and secular chambers. Zelve is situated about 10 km out from Goreme on the Avanos road. Here, the Christians and Muslims lived together in perfect harmony, until 1924. Then Christians had to leave the Valley because of the exchange of minorities between Greece and Turkey, and the Muslims were forced to evacuate the Valley in the 50's when life became dangerous due to risk of erosion. They left the site to set up a modern village, a little further on, to which they gave the name Yeni Zelve (New Zelve).

ongest river of Turkey, the Kızılırmak (Red River), which also separates Avanos from the rest of Cappadocia. The most famous historical feature of Avanos, which is still relevant and very visible today, is its production of earthenware pottery; it is also the most economic activity in the town. The ceramic trade in this district and its countless pottery factories date right back to the Hittites, and the ceramic clay from the red silt of the Kızılırmak has always been used. It is a popular destination because of its attractive old town with cobbled streets, and views over the river.

It lies between the villages of Ihlara in the southeast and Selime in the northwest. At the north end of the village of Ihlara, there is a stairway with almost 400 steps, which descends over 100 m down into the canyon. From the 7th century AD, the valley was settled by Byzantine monks who dug their houses and churches out of the tuff stone, which had been deposited by the eruptions of Mount Hasan. The earlier Greek name, Peristrema (Περιστρημα; winding round) of the village of Belisarma which is located about halfway along the valley from Ihlara to Selime, gave its name to the valley as well.

ed by two major streams, groundwater, and surface water, but has no outlet. Brackish marshes have formed where channels and streams enter the lake. Arable fields surround the lake, except in the south and southwest where extensive seasonally flooded salt-steppe occurs. For most of the year, it is very shallow (approx.0.4 m (1 ft)). During winter part of the salt is dissolved in the fresh water that is introduced to the lake by precipitation and surface runoff (to 324‰ salinity). During the summer the lake dries up exposing an average of 30 cm thick salt layer in August. This mechanism is used as a basis for the process of the salt mines in the lake. The three mines operating in the lake produce 63% of the salt consumed in Turkey. The salt mining generates industrial activity in the region, mainly related to salt processing and refining

Trade across Turkey in medieval Seljuk times was dependent on camel trains (kervan, anglicized as caravan), which stopped by night in inns known as kervansaray or caravanserai , literally 'caravan palaces'. These buildings provided accommodation and other amenities for the merchants and stabling for their animals. Caravanseraies were first seen in Central Asia during the times of Caravans, Ghaznavids and the Great Seljuk State. They were building fortresses called "Ribat". These buildings, first constructed as small buildings for military uses were later developed and changed into larger buildings and were used for both religious purposes and as inns for travellers.