"The City of Mevlana" a Konya Travel Page by traveloturc

The garden of
Love
is green without
limit
and yields many
fruits
other than sorrow
and joy.
Love is beyond either
condition:
without spring,
without autumn,
it is always fresh.

Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi

2007 is the 800 anniversary of the birthday of Mevlana.UNESCO declares this year as MEVLANA year. Mevlana travelogue

According to him, the only way to approach absolute being is through love; and God's love is everywhere, permeating everything. If one were to love another being in the name of God, one would find a pathway leading to the absolute. According to him everything in the universe, every being, even matter itself - all are but manifestations of God and exist in God and are united in the Absolute Being. Thus Mevlana views all existence as a united whole. In a sense, one could call his vision that of Unity Consciousness. This vision impelled Mevlana to transcend all differences and prejudices, and formed the basis of his immense tolerance and of his real and deep humanism.

Konya is a city in Central Anatolia in Turkey. Legend says that Perseus killed a dragon that had been ravaging the town. The people set up a special monument to honor him, a stone obelisk .This event gave the city it's name, Ikonyon, Ikonyum, Iconium. However, among Muslims, another legend is told.
Konya region is one of the most ancient settlements of Anatolia. The results of excavations in Catalhöyük, Karahöyük, Cukurkent and Kucukoy show the region was inhabited as the Neolithic Period (Late Stone Age) of BC 7000. Other settlers of the city before Islam were; the Calcolitic Period (Copper Age) civilizations, Bronze Age civilizations, Hittites, Frigians, Lidians, Persians, Romans and finally Byzantines.

Konya is important for Christians as well because St. Paul and St. Barnabas came to the city around 50 AD. The first exposure of the city to Islam happened during the time of the Caliph Muaviya. Later, Emevi's or Abbasi's. Konya's real meeting with and adopting of Islam began after the victory of Seljuks at Malazgirt in 1071, in the time of Kutalmisoglu Suleyman. The attacks of the Crusaders from 1076 to the end of the 12th century could not wrench the city from Islam.
Konya was the capital of Seljuks between 1071 and 1308. In 1220 Alaaddin Keykubad I repaired the city wall and decorated them with towers. In the time of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, in 1466, Konya joined the lands of the Ottoman Empire. In The First World War The Italian powers which occupied the city in April 1919, left the city in March 1920 during the Independence War led by Atatürk.