To get to the start of our Zengibar Yolu walk Ahmet, Ferda, and I drove from Antalya to Konya. A number of things seemed familiar to me. We drove the new Derebucak road which I had bicycled before it was turned into a highway. We had a sazan balığı (carp) lunch in Beyşehir, a stop Ferda and I enjoyed before on a bicycle tour. On that same tour Ferda and I were disappointed that Çatalhöyük was closed. We had a little better luck this time. And of course we’d been to Konya before.
Just like last time the fish tasted better than it looked.
Above the modern village of Fasıllar (ancient Misthia (aka Mistea, aka Claudiocaesarea)) we find this 70-ton Hittite (from the 14th century BCE) carved block with a couple lions.
Across the small valley there’s a much newer horse, carved by the Romans.
We camped that night at Roman/Byzantine Kilistra, a Kapadokya-like troglodyte city with a well-defined carved church.
The next morning we arrived in Çatalhöyük, but it was Monday, and the new museum was closed! That was disappointing, but since then I’ve heard mixed reviews. The other disappointment was that there used to be (at least) two excavated areas open to visit. Now there was just one, but I guess we can get an idea of what the archaeologists are dealing with.
Of course we think of the Hittites as being a long time ago. Archaeologists are impressed with Alacahöyük‘s early Bronze Age relics from perhaps 4500 years ago. Çatalhöyük, however, is the oldest known inhabited place in the world, estimated at 9000 years! As a guide at Çatalhöyük pointed out, the Hittites could have (theoretically) come from Alacahöyük to Çatalhöyük and learned about a long-forgotten ancient city.
A couple model houses have been built to get an idea of how people lived at Çatalhöyük.
If I understand correctly, those ground-level doors are a modern convenience for visitors. Homes were entered from the roof via ladders 9000 years ago.
The rest of this post is about Konya the city. There’s a lot to see in Konya, but we only visited a few places that were new for us. Konya has some very nice tilework. I was sorry to miss the Selçuk tiled mıhrab at the Alaeddin Mosque on our first visit. On this visit I was surprised to see that it’s been so thoroughly restored.
The Selçuk tombs in the adjacent buildings seem to have good tilework as well, but you can only get a lousy look through a plexiglass window. Often tombs like these are open to visitors.
I liked the unexpected tiled mıhrab at Kapı (aka Kapu) Camii.
It’s easy to find interesting buildings walking around the center of Konya.
On a totally different note Ferda and I took the bus one morning out to the Tropical Butterfly Garden. It’s small and well done. You could walk through in 10 minutes. We took a little over two hours. Note that it’s a one-way route (you can’t go back) so take your time at every turn to find the butterflies that like that particular area. Also note that it’s 28°C with high humidity so dress accordingly. And there’s no toilet within the ticketed area.
The experts are very knowledgeable and are happy, even excited, to answer questions. The butterflies come from the Philippines, Kenya, Costa Rica, and Panama. Most live 10-15 days, but they have at least one species that lives 110 days. The eye spots on the butterfly wings serve the same purpose as the eye spots that you see on some butterflyfish — to make predators think they’re being watched.
That was a worthwhile visit. I recommend it.
