Konya -the capital of Seljuk Empire-Turkey
Places to see and Food to Eat in Turkey
So you want to visit Turkey and see what's there? As I said You have to know the their history . Before reading this post ,read the earlier post -history of the Turks.
The history of Turks simply and briefly :
- The Gok Khanate -before accepting Islam.
- The Battle Of Talas. (up coming post about how Turks converted to Islam).
- The Kara khaniads(upcoming post)
- The Seljuks.
- Ertrugrul -The pathfinder for the Ottomans.
All Turkish related history in perspective of a layman would be in this blog so follow it.
The First step towards going to Turkey-Getting a visa.
It depends which passport you use and from where you are applying.
Two Scenarios:
USA
You get visas of nearly every country. Visit this site.
From other countries it depends which country you are coming from too.
Konya
Turkey visit
The places to visit are many. You have to make a profile of yourself. So what are you going to see?
If you are Ertrugrul and Kurulus Osman fan visit Konya.
Konya
A city in Central Anatolia. The city's history goes back to 7000 BC.
So people already around before Islam came:
• Copper Age People
• Bronze Age People
• Hittites
• Lydians
• Persians
• Romans
• Byzantines.
Finally, Muslim Ottomans led by Mehmed Fatih conquered Constantinople in 1453 CE. Later this city was called Istanbul.
There was a movie called 1453 and also tv series on the above.
The name Konya
There are two myths:
• Legend of Perseus
• Two Muslim religious saints. They were traveling over the west. One of the dervish(holy man) asks his companion “Shall I land?” and the other companion replies:
The answer was:” Sure Land” or Kon ya.
In the 10th century, the Anatalinian Seljuk, or Sultanate of Rum made Konya their capital.
Religious
Konya is the most conservative city in Turkey.
Experience in Konya.
The experience is what counts. Full of history, the whirling Dervishes, and delicious food.
Sites to see:
• Rumi’s Sarcophagus at the Mevlana Museum. The museum is about Sufis and Melvana Jalaluddin Rumi. Interesting.
Rumi was well known Poet. Some of his sayings :
“Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.”
Try etliekmek. It is said to be life life-changing experience but vegetarians have to be on alert. This food consists of:
• Ground beef
• onions
• tomato
• other ingredients
Eat at lunchtime (noon).
Bedestan Bazaar
This is another experience taking you back to the Ottoman time about 1538. Originally supposed to be two thousand years old. The word Bedesten comes from the Persian word bezestan, meaning cloth.
Things to buy:
• traditional clothes
• carpets
• souvenirs
• jewelry
• food
An exclusive New Market of Kolkata, but much grand and exclusive.
Interesting facts related to Indian sub-continent
Shah Jalal a Sufi saint who is well known in Indian Sub-continent was from Konya according to an inscription in Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Turkish elements in Indian Muslim culture:
• khatun(women)
• Sherbet or the tradition of giving a drink to travelers
• Aryan is similar to lassi? Maybe
• Followers of Abu Hanifa, a Muslim jurst.
(to be continued)
_____________________
References
_____________________________________
https://www.waysoftheworldblog.com/things-to-do-konya/
https://gokonya.com/en/historical-bedesten-bazaar
0 Comments