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AKSEHIR
Aksehir, to the northwest, is known throughout Turkey
as the birthplace of the 13th century humorist
Nasrettin Hoca, whose mausoleum stands in the town.
The 13th century Ulu Mosque and the Altinkale Mescidi
are other monuments worth seeing; the Sahip Ata
Mausoleum has been converted into the town's museum.
On the way south to Beysehir stop at Eflatun Pinar
next to the lake to see this unusual Hittite
monumental fountain. Several interesting Seljuk
buildings are scattered around lovely Beysehir, on the
shores of Turkey's third largest lake, Beysehir Lake.
Among the monuments are the Esrefoglu Mosque and
Medrese, and the Kubad-Abad Summer Palace across the
lake. Another medieval palace stands on Kizkalesi
Island, opposite the Kubad-Abad palace. Catalhoyuk ,
45 km south of Konya, is a fascinating Neolithic site
dating from the eight millennium B.C., which makes it
one of the world's oldest towns. Archaeologists have
determined that holes in the roofs of the mud houses
were the entrance doors. Ankara's Museum of Anatolian
Civilizations displays the famous temple, mother-goddess
figures and Neolithic frescoes from the site. At ivriz,
a Hittite site 168 km east of Konya, you can see one
of Turkey's finest neo-Hittite reliefs of a king and
fertility god.
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