Realizing last night that we were too late to talk to the Metro station about busses that run from Göreme to Konya, we asked the hotel staff about their recommendation. The only option they came up with was a night bus leaving at 8:00p...ick.
We did some research and found if we left from the larger nearby city, Nevşehir, we could get a bus at 12:30p. So after breakfast we said goodbye to our cave and got a taxi into the city, hopeful that we could find the right bus station and get a ticket to Konya (and that the bus was actually running given the pandemic).
Front of the Eren Bey Cave Hotel
The taxi ride was fast and easy, and we found the bus line and were able to get two tickets for ~$15 for the 3hr trip. Fortunately we had registered our HES code for the flight to Kayseri, which was a requirement of the bus ride as well - felt like we prepared travelers!
Snacks at the bus station
Bus station cat
The bus ride was effortless, having chargers at each seat, and most importantly...air conditioning. We only had one stop and the ride was exactly 3 hours as advertised.
More what we pictured Turkey to be like...
When we got to the station in Konya we puzzled on how to use the public tram, but opted for the easier route of the taxi to the hotel. Once settled we headed out for dinner near the hotel and researched what we could do during our 24 hours in Konya (we only stopped here to break up the trip to Antalya, as Konya seems to be more of a business hub). Here is where Konya is:
A point of cultural notariety for Konya is that it is the origin of the Muslim order named Sufism of which the Dervish are members. On Saturdays the Mevlana Cultural Center performs a demonstration of the Sufism religious dance called the Sema ritual - known more commonly In the U.S. as the Whirling Dervish dance. We found a cab to drive us there, but when we pulled up to the center he called a friend who spoke English and he told us it was closed - we were disappointed. But after we told him to take us back to our hotel, he stopped at another taxi stand nearby the center who said it was indeed open. He drove us back to the parking area, then went in to the center to confirm with them - how nice! And he didn’t speak a word of English :-).
While the ceremony used to be free to watch, they were now charging 20TL, so we paid and found a seat in the open air amphitheater.
The performers came in and began to play music as Dervishes took their place on the floor. They proceeded to carefully practice their worship ritual until they began the “whirling” part that they’re famous for...
Close-up solo shot
After the performance we (Don decided, Tammy didn’t know it would be a 40 min walk) decided to walk back to the hotel since it had cooled down and was a nice night. After a stop in a local market for ice cream bars, we called it a successful, adventurous day!
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