My Turkey Adventure...Konya on the way to Antalya:

Konya or ancient Iconium lies on the northwest edge of a high fertile plateau almost 4000 ft above sea level and it is one of the oldest occupied cities in the world, at 3000 BC. A Christian Church was founded by Paul during his 3 journeys to Iconium, as noted in the book of Acts and he suffered great suffering and persecution. The city was granted full Roman colony by Agustus around 25 BC and existed as a double community as a Greek polis also, until Hadrian absorbed the polis in AD 135.

Arriving in the early evening after the near five hour bus ride from Cappadocia provided enough time to check into the Selcuk Hotel for the evening and take our neighborhood walkabout in this central Konya location and grab our optional group dinner.

During our check-in procedure and collecting our room keys I noticed an African man sitting in the spacious hotel lobby with his Bible open...so I said hello and he spoke very good english, which was a surprise. We exchanged pleasantries and spoke briefly about the Bible for me to recognize he was a christian and a pastor of a small group. He invited me to attend his weekly Friday nite service an hour later, and asked if I could even speak to his group with a testimony or word of encouragement...as our meeting and timing was more than coincidence and could provide me an uplifting evening on my own? 

This was a very small congregation of African Turks living in Konya and it was refreshing to hear and sing christian choruses and hear a short message from the Bible and all in english. They made me feel very welcome and it was a nice opportunity to encourage them while they continue to make a stand for their faith and protesant christianity in a city and country that is dominated by many millions of Muslims!

The next morning in Konya, our tour includes visiting a local felt merchant and a very popular Muslim Mevlana museum/mausoleum. 

Historical Iconium was also the capital of the Seljuk Turks from the 12th to 13th centuries, and the hometown of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi. Mevlana founded the mystic Sufi order that is very popular with the Muslims and known as the 'Whirling Dervishes', and so upon his death the Muslims constructed a large mauseleum and museum with various artefacts under glass, in his honor. The strange,  and my least favorite, the Mevlana museum had a no photo rule and required the ladies to cover up and wear hijabs on their heads. I have included a pic of several of our tour group ladies in their favorite head coverings.

Our much more interesting visit to the local merchant and retail store called Iconium Atolye was a favourite of mine and our tour group since our tour began, and I believe we all left with a purchased package to remember this interesting and old hand made art of felting. We were carefully shown how these beautiful and unique creations are painstakingly created, and I took a video clip just to recall how laborious this process is. From hats and scarfs to lovely wall hangings and coverings, each item was exquisite and the the lady entrepeneur was a fourth generation owner and artisan and humbly passionate with her creations. 

As we board the bus for our 5 hour scenic coastal journey towards coastal Antalya, we make a few comfort stops...(as our guide calls it), that includes washroom and snack breaks. On arrival we first visit Aspendos which contains one of the best preserved theatres in the ancient world. The hike to the top of this amazing area of preserved ruins included an incredible valley aquaduct system and mountain top temple, and both in good shape. The Aspendos theatre is being renovated to a very original standard of preservation but we were easily able to view it from a very top perch and appreciate how amazing this theatre will be again as they will conduct live opera and other orchestrated performances in this ancient venue...wow what an experience that would be?!

Next up is the beautiful and short visit to the coastal village of Antalya...