Discover Sille's Three Museums
FOLLOWING THE TRACES OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF HERITAGE: SILLE MUSEUMS ATTRACT A FLOOD OF VISITORS
Aya Elenia, Time and Sille Museums located in the historic Sille Neighbourhood, which have been revived through restorations carried out by the Selçuklu Municipality, contribute significantly to Konya tourism with their intense visitor traffic.
Sille, one of the oldest settlements in Konya and home to many civilizations throughout history, attracts the attention of thousands of local and foreign tourists every year. Among the factors that make the region special are the historical structures that have been reopened to visitors through restoration works carried out by the Selçuklu Municipality and that attract great interest. In this context, Aya Elenia, Time and Sille Museums stand out among the prominent visiting points for history and culture enthusiasts who want to closely observe the traces of the past.
“SILLE MUSEUM” SHEDS LIGHT ON THE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL PAST OF KONYA AND SILLE
Sille Museum, brought to the Historic Sille Neighbourhood by the Selçuklu Municipality, takes its visitors on a journey through the historical and cultural past of Sille. The museum, which keeps the historical texture of Sille alive, reveals the historical and cultural values, handicrafts and folkloric structure of Sille. The museum, which presents a different aspect of Sille in each section, attracts great interest from visitors throughout the year. Located at the entrance of Sille and drawing attention with its stone architecture unique to Sille, this original structure has an area of 750 square meters and consists of two floors. On the ground floor of the museum, the Kaaba inner cover called Kisve-i Şerif, manuscripts belonging to Sille Madrasa and models of important structures located in Sille are exhibited. On the upper floor of the museum, there are pottery and carpets of Sille dating from the 18th to 20th centuries, as well as clothing, kitchen and bath culture artifacts.
TURKEY’S FIRST AND ONLY “TIME MUSEUM” IN SELÇUKLU
Turkey’s first Time Museum takes its visitors on a journey through time with many artifacts related to the concept of time. The Time Museum is among the frequent destinations of local and foreign visitors who visit Sille throughout the year. Established in the Sille Chapel and whose restoration was completed in 2012 by the Selçuklu Municipality within the scope of loyalty to history, with the aim of developing tourism and protecting historical and cultural heritage, the museum exhibits hundreds of years-old time-measuring instruments from the Ottoman and Republican periods. Among the remarkable artifacts of the museum are specially designed clocks from the Ottoman and Republican periods, calendars arranged by muvakkits and prepared for general use, pocket and desk calendars, and handwritten and printed calendars used in official institutions. In addition, many artifacts such as gold and silver chain pocket watches, a tabulated calendar belonging to the Turkish Aeronautical Association containing geographical and
economic data by provinces, an archaeological example of a Roman period sundial, and a reproduction of an Ottoman period sundial still located on the qibla wall of Konya Hacı Hasan Mosque attract attention. The museum contains a 170-year-old clock and a 200-year-old calendar.
THE OLDEST STANDING CHURCH IN THE WORLD; AYA ELENIA
Aya Eleni Museum is known as the oldest standing church in the world. Visitors to this place of worship, which was built in 327 by Helena, the mother of Byzantine Emperor Constantine, and now functions as a museum, have the opportunity to witness history.
The church, which has withstood the years and survived to the present day, was built with properly cut Sille stone. Above the inner door of the historical structure, there is a repair inscription written in Karamanlidika with Greek letters, providing information about the structure. This inscription dates back to 1833. In its courtyard, there are rooms carved into the rocks. The narthex is entered through the door located on the western wall of the place of worship. There are two-way stone stairs leading to the women’s gallery. Inside the church, which has a main dome supported by four piers and consists of three naves, there is a wooden pulpit decorated with plaster and a wooden plastered iconostasis separating the apse from the main space. On it are depictions of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.
Aya Elenia, Time and Sille Museums can be visited six days a week, except Mondays, between 09:00 and 18:00.
