Konya

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(2002 pop. 696,000). Konya is the capital of the province of Konya in south-central Turkey, the country's main agricultural region. The city is surrounded by fertile, well-irrigated plains, which have produced grains and cereals for millennia.

The earliest settlers were the Hittites, who called the city Kuwanna; they were followed by the Phrygians who used the name Kowania. In the third century Iconium (as it was known under the Greeks) became a Hellenistic city although the Phrygian population continued to maintain its cultural identity. After having been expelled from Antioch, St. Paul and St. Barnabas delivered sermons in Iconium in 47, 50, and 53 CE, but they were not favorably received and Christianity had little impact on the local population. In Byzantine times, Iconium served as a military base, subject to frequent attacks by the Arabs. After the Seljuks defeated the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert (1071), Iconium became a part of the Seljuk Empire. Seljuk Sultan Kilic Arslan I (1092–1107) later moved his capital to Konya after losing Nicaea to the Byzantines during the first crusade (1097). Konya was relatively free of the constraints posed by warfare, and under Seljuk rule the city flourished. This is especially true with regard to its architecture and tile work, which display a distinctly Seljuk style and remain a major tourist attraction today. In 1313, Konya was occupied by the Karamanid dynasty and officially became part of the Ottoman empire in 1475.

Konya is also the heart of the Mevlevi Sufi sect (known as the whirling dervishes) whose founder, the poet and philosopher Jalal-al-Din Rumi (1207–1273), is buried in Mevlana Museum; his shrine is a major pilgrimage site. An annual dervish festival takes place every December.

Cahen, Claude, and Godfrey Goodwin. (1960) "Konya." In The Encyclopedia of Islam. 2d ed. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill.

Statistical Yearbook of Turkey, 1998. Ankara, Turkey: Devlet Istatistik Enstitusu.