Konya

Sister cities

• Daejeon
• Sarajevo
• Baku
• Xi'an
• Sanaa
• Verona
• Tulkarm
• Khoy
• Sylhet
• Al Qadarif
• Okayama
• Multan

History

The Konya region has been inhabited since the third millennium BC and fell at different times under the rule of the Hittites, the Phrygians, the Greeks, the Persians and the Romans. In the 11th century the Seljuk Turks conquered the area and began ruling over its Rûm (Byzantine Greek) inhabitants, making Konya the capital of their new Sultanate of Rum. Under the Seljuks, the city reached the height of its wealth and influence. Following their demise, Konya came under the rule of the Karamanids, before being taken over by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. After the Turkish War of Independence the city became part of the modern Republic of Turkey. Excavations have shown that the region was inhabited during the Late Copper Age, around 3000 BC. as well as near the beginning of his Third Missionary Journey several years later. According to the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla, Iconium was also the birthplace of Saint Thecla, who saved the city from attack by the Isaurians in 354. In the 7th century it became part of the Anatolic Theme and was, together with the nearby (Caballa) Kaballah Fortress (Turkish: Gevale Kalesi) ([https://www.google.com/maps/place/37%C2%B054'06.4%22N+32%C2%B023'13.3%22E/@37.9017802,32.3848373,843m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d37.9017757!4d32.3870263 location]) a frequent target of Arab attacks during the Arab–Byzantine wars in the eighth to tenth century, The rebellious general Andronikos Doukas used the Kaballah fortress as his base in 905–906. During the tenth or eleventh century the church of Saint Amphilochius was constructed inside the citadel of Kaballa, housing the tomb of the saint which the Turks later believed to be the tomb of Plato, renaming the church to Eflâtun Mescidi (mosque of Plato). The monastery…

Geography

Konya sits in the center of the largest province, in the largest plain (Konya Plain), and is the seventh most heavily populated city in Turkey. The city is in the southern part of the Central Anatolia Region with the southernmost side of the province hemmed in by the Taurus Mountains.

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  79
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  71
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  70
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  52
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  44
• European Goldfinch

  Carduelis carduelis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  35
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  34
• Great Crested Grebe

  Podiceps cristatus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  33

Most recent

• M 4.5 — 2024-10-04
  32 km NW of Karapınar, Turkey
• M 4.8 — 2023-08-01
  28 km NNE of Konya, Turkey
• M 2.6 — 2023-02-17
  7 km ENE of Konya, Turkey
• M 4.5 — 2022-01-31
  12 km SE of Derbent, Turkey
• M 4.3 — 2021-11-08
  15 km SSE of Derbent, Turkey
• M 5.1 — 2021-11-08
  23 km SE of Derbent, Turkey