💎 Hidden gems remaining: 12
Konya is a vast city almost in the heart of Turkey. With its population of a little over 2 million people, the population is similar to the one in Slovenia. Today well developed and industrially important city had a huge impact well before modern ages. Well-known for very densely positioned mosques, it is the city with the largest amount of head-covered women. Other than that it is one of the meeting points for Turkey students, due to well-renown universities and middle-grade schools. This was the first time we did not feel like roasted turkeys.
This time, we chose Kontur Turism to reach Konya. The bus was similar to the previous ones, arriving just a little late. But then – oh no! – problems with public transport again! By the way, did we mention Konya is the city with English speakers?
In contrast to other cities, it was much harder to find a suitable dolmus to reach our destination (which was, by the way, the main destination of the city). We struggled for half an hour before we finally managed to hop on the right one. It was like a roller-coaster ride: we almost crashed, then took a rapid U-turn. Multiple times. But we reached the destination. Alive.
Zafer de Günlük. Do you see the smoke?
Of course, the . The address provided by AirBnb was a few streets off. So our host was awaiting us in an office we couldn't see. Luckily, he realised what the problem was quite quickly and provided us with the correct address. Then he laughed in our faces while reading our names on our passports. He read them quite well, actually!
Our room was a different surprise whatsoever. If you are a non-smoker, stay away from this building. It stinks of smoke and you cannot get rid of it. Your breakfast will taste terrible (especially milk), unless you eat it outside the window! Compared to the Luxury apartments in Denizli it looks very promising from the outside, but when you start opening the cupboards, you soon realise it is very like the scene from cartoons where a fly flies out when opened.
You will run out of museums and see-sights pretty fast, so shopping might interest you. As fashion is important for Turkish people, it is not difficult to find clothing shops in the city. And the prices may be a tad cheaper that those you are used to. If you have place in your laguagge, buy some. Any additional weight is a burden when backpacking, so we chose items wisely.
The central park of Konya consists of many trees, gardens, water fountains and benches, as well as promenades. Fast food kiosks span around it, but you will also find a café in an old abandoned tram. A national library with a beautiful architecture stands in the middle of the square. Be prepared for it to become crowded when the students from the Konya High School have a lunch break.
Café in an abandoned tram
When you look at the map of Konya, you can not unsee the eye-like structure in the heart of Konya. It is a hugeee circle of roads interconneting into a gigantic roundabout. Filling this structure is Tepesi park. Giving shade in hot summers and icy stairs in winter, it is a meeting place for students and other locals. Also located in park is Alaaddin Mosque – one of many in this city.
Someday icy stairs
To grasp the idea of the history of the region of Turkey, walk to the Mevlana Museum. The security staff will welcome you warmly. You may want to relax in the rose garden first or walk around the rose cemetery. The nation that lived here really . Read the other side of each information sign to learn about sultans, dedes and similar stuff. A "separate-combine" water fountain stands in the middle, which resembles the need for individuality and society. In the end we entered the tomb, which had been given the role of museum as well.
The square with mosque and museum
The inside of the tomb
Inside the walls of Mevlana Museum
Travelling throughout the Turkey you are likely to hear a lot about THE Atatürk (the father of Turkey). It was about time for us to Google him up and realise the importance of this figure for the nation. A quick read and an hour spent in the museum educated us. If you are visiting Konya, we would recommend you to visit this place and honor the significance of this man.
What is Žan wearing in this memorial room?
Etliekmek
As our kitchen was not sufficiently (and you know we don't need much – remember cooking pancakes in a teapot) equiped, we decided to eat outside both evenings.
There's a Turkish speciality called Etliekmek (or as we call it, Etil Ekmek) which might remind you of a pizza. The dough is paper-thin and crunchy and there are pieces of meat and vegetables on top of it. The family at the Cengiz Etli Ekmek Börek Salonu prepares it perfectly and offers some sliced tomato nearby.
Next day at noon we remembered we hadn't eaten much döner kebap, so we lunched at a fast food kisok near the main square. Unfortunately, when we placed an order for a "dürüm" (there was a picture of a döner kebap next to it), the waiter said "no no no", offering us something else instead. In Turkish, of course. We went for it, although we didn't know what we ordered. It turned out they ran out of pita/tortilla bread they normally use, so they made us a warm sandwich with chicken kebap meat.
No no no chicken kebap warm sandwich
Tirit with refreshing salad. They only serve this – and they serve it well.
In the evening, we finished with a special dish Konya is famous for: tirit. It might remind you of Bosnian ćevapi, but with added cubes of juicy bread and a yoghurt dip. Recommended by Google Maps reviews, we dined at locals' favourite Kabakci Ali Lokantasi. They had no menus, spoke no English, but soon we realised tirit is the only dish they serve there. This made it easy for us to order: we just showed two fingers (as for two portions) and got a thumbs up in return 👍