Day 11 : Konya

A day without cycling.

Konya has the reputation of being a very religious city. It's famous for its whirling dervishes (I met these guys at the museum 🙃). 

The dervish lodge (or Sufi or Mevlana lodge) is an ancient order, founded in the 13th century by followers of Rumi. Rumi was a mystic poet and philosopher in the Muslim world. The dervishes are rather spiritual and known for tolerance and peace. The dervish dance is a ceremony of meditation and getting into trance.

At the Mevlana Museum, the tomb of Rumi, located under the turquoise dome, can be visited. 

It's a place of pilgrimage for many muslims. Typical for the sarcophagi here: the turban on top of it!

On the way to the hamam, it was time for the call of the muezzin for the Friday prayer, which is around noon. Most men hurried to the mosque, their prayer rug under the arm. An older man rushed on his bike to the mosque. He hastily locked his bike and limped up the stairs to the entrance, as fast as his legs would allow. 

When the mosque was full, the men lined up in front of the mosque, placing their prayer rugs neatly one next to the other. Some used a piece of cardboard, they never sat directly on the ground. 

Suddenly the bazaar was quiet and calm. A few minutes ago it had been busy, everbody was chit-chatting, drinking tea, scooters were chasing through the narrow streets. Now there was only muted background whisper... and the voice of the muezzin. A very special atmosphere, which disappeared as soon as it appeared.  

In the hamam I got a good wash, a scrub and a massage, for 400 lira (~11 euros). An older lady scrubbed at least 100 grams of skin off my body. I hope there's is enough skin left on my buttocks!

Konya seems to be a city owned and ruled by the people of Konya, not by tourists. I barely saw any non-Turkish tourists here.