Where to visit in Konya

Beyşehir Lake National Park: Beyşehir Lake, Turkey's largest freshwater lake; It contains different ecosystems and has been a National Park since 1993.

Sille Dam Park: The park, which brings Konya residents together with nature and water, is one of the largest parks in Turkey.

Tropical Butterfly Garden: The park has the largest butterfly flight area in Europe. There are 15 species of butterflies, 5 classes of insects and 98 species of plants.

Turkish Stars Park: It was put into service by Konya Metropolitan Municipality in 2015. It is the first aviation concept park of Turkey. It attracts appreciation with the Airplane Cafe in the park.

Akyokuş Park: Akyokuş Park, which is the only point where you can see Konya with a bird's eye; continues to welcome its guests for years with its unique view.

Selcuklu Congress Center: The congress center, which serves with its magnificent architecture, natural acoustic spaces and large foyer areas, hosts all kinds of scientific, cultural and social events such as congresses, fairs, exhibitions, musicals, film premieres and company meetings to be held at national and international level with its high-level kitchen infrastructure that can serve organizations such as meeting and ballrooms, galas, weddings and iftars. 

Konya City Theater: Konya Metropolitan Municipality City Theater, which contributes to the culture and art life of Konya, is one of the popular activity areas of the city with its strong staff and staged plays.

Catalhöyük Neolithic City: Çatalhöyük Ancient City, located 52 kilometers southeast of Konya; With the transition to settled social life between 7400 and 6200 BC, it is a geography that witnesses important social changes and developments such as the beginning of agriculture, hunting, and sheds light on human history with its original finds of the first settlement, the first house architecture and the first sacred structures. In 2012, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Mevlana Museum: Mevlana's stunning green tiled mausoleum is the most famous building in Konya. The old dervish school, which is attached to the mausoleum, now serves as a museum where the manuscript of Mevlana's works and various works of the order related to Sufism are located.

Thin Minaret Madrasah: İnce Minaret Madrasah, also known as the Museum of Stone and Wood Arts, is located in the Seljuk District. It is a one-storey madrasa with a covered courtyard. It takes its name from its minaret in the north-east corner.

Konyanuma Panorama Museum: Konyanuma Panorama, one of the three largest panoramic museums in Turkey, exhibits the social life and Mevlevi culture of 13th century Konya. Located within walking distance of the Mevlana Museum and built in accordance with traditional Turkish-Islamic art, this complex takes its visitors to the 13th century in the open-air museum where examples of Mevlevi houses around the world are exhibited with models, as well as oil paintings describing the life of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi.

Konya Archeology Museum: In this museum, artifacts belonging to the Neolithic, Early Bronze, Hittite, Phrygian, Greek, Roman and Byzantine periods are exhibited. The artifacts unearthed during the excavations in Çatalhöyük, Canhasan, Erbaba, Sızma, Karahöyük and Alaaddin Hill and the sarcophagi of the Roman period are exhibited in the museum. The museum is a must-visit place in Konya.

Kilistra Ancient City: This ancient city is located in the town of Hatunsaray (Lystra), 45 kilometers southwest of Konya, in Gökurt Village Meram. Kilistra, which was the scene of intensive settlement in the Hellenistic and Roman periods and grew rapidly in the Early Christian Period, gained an architectural texture similar to Cappadocia over time. Kilistra stands out because it was an important place in the life of St. Paul and included architecturally valuable examples such as churches, chapels, monasteries, watchtowers, shelters, ancient roads, ceramic workshops.

Meke Crater Lakes: The most famous of the many crater lakes surrounding Karapınar, located 94 km southeast of Konya, is the beautiful Meke Crater Lake, with an island in the middle. When viewed from above, it is seen as a black dot surrounded by blue water. Because of this image, the lake is considered the "Evil Eye Bead of the World". On the north side of the road leading to Ereğli, 10 km from Karapınar, Acı Crater Lake is located.

Şems-i Tabrizi Tomb and Mosque: It is located in Shams Park to the north of Şerâfeddin Mosque. Today, the building continues to exist in its expanded form after being reworked by Emir İshak Bey in 1510 together with the masjid. Inside the masjid there is a tomb believed to belong to Shams-i Tabrizi. The Tomb and Masjid of Şems-i Tabrizi, which has a very important place in the intellectual life of Hazrat Mevlana, is one of the most visited places in Konya.

Salt Lake: Salt Lake is the second largest lake in Turkey after Lake Van. It feeds mainly on groundwater. The region, which is a region of tectonic origin, is located in a closed and large basin called Konya basin. The region is poor in terms of inflowing rivers due to its location with the least rainfall in part of the country. In summer, the dry period prevails, and with excessive evaporation in the lake, about 30 cm of salt layer is formed. It is one of the saltiest lakes in the world. There are about 6,000 bird nesting sites in the Salt Lake basin, which is home to a wide variety of bird species. In addition, it was determined that 279 plant and bacterial species live in the region. Salt Lake Special Environmental Protection Area, one of the important natural areas of the world, has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Temporary List due to these features.

Konya Japanese Park: This magnificent park, which is the largest Japanese garden in Turkey, attracts attention with its lush nature and beautiful view. It was opened in 2010 with the aim of developing good relations between the cities of Kyoto and Konya.

Meram Vineyards: Meram is located in the valley at the south-eastern slopes of the Takkeli mountain. Old Meram Vineyards, 5-6 km from the city. It starts from the west and extends to the green valley that reaches the Dere. Throughout history, its water, air and vineyards have been the subject of travelogues and divans, and its fame has spread all over the world. Today it is a beautiful promenade surrounded by forests. There are also tea gardens and restaurants.

Nasreddin Hodja Archaeology and Ethnography Museum: Rüştü Bey, who built the mansion, was the founder of Akşehir (the interrogation judge at that time). There are two structures known for itself in the district. One of them is the Rüştü Bey Inn built in 1904 and the other is the Rüştü Bey Mansion, which was started to be built at the beginning of the First World War. After Rüştü Bey demolished the house belonging to his father Mustafa Ağa on the same parcel, the construction of the mansion was started by Armenian masters and completed by Turkish masters. In one part of the building, which was planned as a two-storey twin house with wooden carriers, adobe and stone materials on the basement and ground floor, Rüştü Bey's sons lived in one part and himself in the other part. A mixed cultural texture is seen in Akşehir, where different ethnic groups have lived together throughout history. For this reason, different elements from traditional Turkish houses are frequently encountered in the architectural texture of the city. The traces of this mixed culture are clearly seen in the Rüştü Bey Mansion.

Aya-Elena Church: In 327 AD, Helena, the mother of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine, stopped by Konya on her way to Jerusalem for pilgrimage, saw the temples of the first Christian ages and decided to build a temple for Christians in Sille, a district of the Seljuk district, 15 km from Konya. Hagia-Elena Church has been repaired for centuries and has survived to the present day.

Aladdin Hill and Aladdin Mosque: Alaaddin Hill in Karatay district of Konya is one of the important prehistoric settlements. The importance of this hill in terms of art history, architectural history, archaeology and historical science does not end with telling. It is said that during the period when Konya was the capital of the Seljuk Empire, Sultan Aladdin asked the people to build a hill in the middle of the city to build a mosque. On top of that, everyone in the city brought soil to the middle of the city and created this hill. Alaaddin Mosque, one of the most important historical monuments that have survived to the present day, is located on the hill.