Konya

Konya was the Seljuk capital and is the home of the Mevlevi order — the Sufi tradition that gave the world the whirling dervishes. The Mevlana Museum, where Rumi's tomb sits beneath a turquoise dome, is the spiritual center of the city. Beyond the religious gravity, Konya is the conservative heart of central Anatolia: tea gardens, slow mornings, and one of the country's better culinary regions — etli ekmek and tirit are local specialties worth the trip alone.