After the relaxed atmosphere of Olympus, we head north to the city of Konya, which is well known as one of the most conservative religious areas in Turkey. Having encountered religious fanaticism before, I’m a little nervous, but the nervousness is completely unfounded.
Konya is the birth place of the Mevlana ‘whirling dervishes’, a religious order who reach spiritual ecstacy through whirling and dancing… there’s a museum dedicated to Mevlana and his followers which is intriging to visit. Its a serious commitment to become a fully fledged Mevlana dervish - you need to stay at the mosque for 1000 days, and learn the traditions of dancing, meditation and prayer. I'm sure I'm not up for that sort of commitment...
Unlike the warmth of Olympos, Konya is cold - on the bus ride here we saw metre high snow drifts. We're heading to Cappadocia from here to stroll through amazing geological formations and explore the caves and underground cities excavated by Christians hudreads of years earlier. Might even stay in a cave...
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