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.