Day 7

The followers of Mevlana became the Mevlevi, better known as whirling dirvishes

Mother & daughter at Mevlana's tomb
I found this a wonderful place to "people watch."

New friend, Nurgul
When we arrived in Konya, we had some free time to wander around. My mom and I went in search of a few things we needed ... a memory card, hand cleanser, etc. While on our errands, we met a lovely young woman, Nurgul. She was so kind to us. She stopped what she was doing and took us everywhere we needed to go to complete our errands. She is just one more example of the kindness and warmth that I found so prevalent among the Turks!
A moving classroom
Each time we had a long bus ride, Sidar would spend part of the drive teaching us something new about Turkish culture, history, or geography ... or he'd open the discussion to whatever questions we had.

 

The Best of Turkey - A Rick Steves' Tour

(top) (<< back) (next>>)

Home "Cousins" Istanbul Ankara Cappadocia Konya Antalya Pamukkale Aphrodisias Kusadasi & Ephesus Slideshows More Thanks

Rick Steve's Tours

Day 7: Caravanserai (on the road to Konya) ... Day 8: Mevlana Museum

An interior room of the caravanserai

 

Come, come, come again ... whoever you may be, come again, even though you may be a pagan or a fire worshipper.

Our center is not one of despair.

Come again, even if you may have violated your vows a hundred times, come again

-from the teachings of Mevlana

 


Out of respect to Turkish tradition, all of the women in our group covered their heads

Megan and Cate
On the way to Konya, we stopped at a caravanserai, an inn from Selcuk times where travelers along the Silk Road could stop for a night between cities. A typical caravanserai was large enough to accomodate for people to bring their whole caravan (animals, carts, servants, etc) inside for shelter and safety.

Sidar explains the purpose of the caravanserai

Center courtyard of the caravanserai
Day 8

Rosie and grandson, Harrison

"Who is Mevlana? Mevlana who is also known as Rumi, was a philosopher and mystic of Islam, but not a Muslim of the orthodox type. His doctrine advocates unlimited tolerance, positive reasoning, goodness, charity and awareness through love. To him and to his disciples all religions are more or less truth. Looking with the same eye on Muslim, Jew and Christian alike, his peaceful and tolerant teaching has appealed to men of all sects and creeds."

-taken from www.mevlana.net

On the morning of the 8th day of hour tour, we went to Mevlana Museum in Konya. Mevlana's tomb is here and it is a very holy place for Turkish Muslims. They go to his tomb to pray for his intercession.