Konya, the City of Hearts

Hello dear readers. Today I want to talk about Konya, which is the biggest city of our country according to area and the sixth biggest city according to population. Konya is a city of history, culture, civilization and gastronomy. The settlements inside the borders of Konya goes back to very old times.

Çatalhöyük, which have a history of about 8000 years, is inside the borders of Konya and it accept many visitors. Çatalhöyük is one of the first settlement places of human history. It is an important center that give light to human history with first settlement, first house architecture and first holy buildings. In Çatalhöyük, you can reached wall paintings, houses from ancient times, pots and statues.

Konya was capital of Anatolian Seljuks for nearly 200 years, because of this reason it have got many historical buildings. In Konya there are very important works like Alaeddin Mosque, İnce Minareli Madrasah, Mevlana Museum, Karatay Madrasah, Sille Village and Aziziye Mosque. In the districts, Eşrefoğlu Mosque in Beyşehir, which is in UNESCO World Heritage List, and the historical baths and hot springs in Ilgın makes Konya a full culture city.

Konya is also one of the biggest grain areas of our country. About 9 percent of Turkey’s wheat harvest are made in Konya. Konya come forward with its industry. Konya have a strong food culture with meals like Etli ekmek, Düğün Pilavı and Furun kebabı.

Every year many tourists comes to Konya because of important people like Mevlana, Nasreddin Hodja and Sultan Alaeddin. According to the data of last 2–3 years, Mevlana Museum is the most visited museum in Turkey. Konya continues to be the capital of industry, agriculture and culture.

One of the places you should visit when you go to Konya is Konya Tropical Butterfly Garden. Konya Tropical Butterfly Garden has four main parts: production area where butterflies live from pupa to death, indoor flight area, outdoor flight area and butterfly museum.

Now I will talk shortly about Konyaspor, which is the football team of Konya. Konyaspor was founded on 22 June 1922 in Konya Boys High School. In the 2012–2013 season, Konyaspor beat Muğlaspor in the play-off finals and promoted to the Super League, and Konyaspor is still  playing in the Super League. In the 2015–2016 season, with Aykut Kocaman, Konyaspor finished third in the league and earned the right to go to Europe. In the next season, it won the Turkish Cup by beating Başakşehir and went to Europe for the second time. In the summer of 2017, Konyaspor played the Super Cup final with Beşiktaş and won the match 2–1. Finally, in the 2021–2022 season, Konyaspor finished the league in third place and qualified for the UEFA Conference League.