KONYA

Konya, a major city in the southwest of Turkey’s Central Anatolian region, is Turkey’s seventh largest by population. Konya is one of the oldest urban centers in the world, with settlements dating back to at least the third millennium BC. Known as Iconium during classical antiquity, the city has been ruled by the Phrygian, Persian, Hellenistic and Roman civilizations. After the Seljuk Turks conquered the area from the Byzantines in the 11th century AD, the city reached its peak in wealth and influence. The Muslim Sufi Rumi settled in Konya and founded the order of mystics commonly known as the “Whirling Dervishes.”