Konya Tour from Side

Konya is located in Central Anatolia. The city is around 240 km from the Side region, and the journey from the Side region takes approximately 4 hours. The tour is available every Sunday. Pick-up time from hotels in the Side region is 05.00, and return time to hotels is around 19.30. This excursion is an all-inclusive tour, including entrance tickets to the main attractions in Konya and the Sufi Sema ceremony. In addition, the tour fee includes breakfast and lunch during the tour.
The itinerary of the tour
After a warm welcome from our guide, we will begin our journey towards this spiritual city of Turkey. After approximately two hours of travel, we will have a pleasant break at a cute restaurant for a traditional Turkish breakfast around 07.30. The breakfast menu includes cheese, olives, butter, honey, jam, salami, tea, and bread.

After breakfast near Konya, we will stop at the theme park known as “Around the World in 80 Thousand Park”. You will spend a pleasant half hour in this fascinating park where dinosaur replicas, fairy tale figurines and miniatures of historically significant buildings are exhibited.

Our next destination on the itinerary is the cute town of Sille. You will explore the majestic Hagia Eleni Church from the Byzantine period with our knowledgeable tour guide here. This church, which has a history of 1700 years, is one of the first examples of Eastern Roman church architecture. After the church visit, you will enjoy an hour of free time to explore the town on your own. This town has many remarkable architectural structures from the Ottoman period, such as houses, mosques, bridges and fountains.

After Sille, our tour continues with a visit to the iconic Mevlana Museum, dedicated to the renowned Sufi mystic Rumi. The museum contains the sarcophagi of Mevlana and his father. Works, plaques, and manuscript books belonging to the Mevlevi sect are also displayed. In your 45 minutes of free time, enjoy the spiritual atmosphere as you explore the museum’s halls.
Then, it is time for a delicious lunch in Konya. Lunch will be at a local restaurant near the museum, where Konya’s traditional meat bread, appetisers, and salads will be served.

After lunch, you will take yourself to the lively streets of Konya city centre. Many architectural marvels like the Aziziye Mosque, Selimiye Mosque, Karatay Museum, and Selçuklu Mosque await discovery. You will have one hour and thirty minutes to explore Konya city centre. All the attractions are within walking distance here.

And here comes the highlight of the excursion. After your free time in Konya, you will watch the fascinating Mevlevi Sufi Sema Ceremony at the Irfan Cultural Centre. For an hour, graceful whirling dervishes will perform this exciting ritual with Sufi music. Afterwards, we will begin our return journey back to Side.

On the return voyage, we will make a picturesque stop at the Beysehir Esrefoglu Mosque. Built in the 13th century, it offers stunning views of Beysehir Lake. The mosque’s architecture, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023, will fascinate you.
After a half-hour stay at this sacred place, we will continue our return journey and arrive in Side around 19:30. This exploration and culture-filled excursion will end when we drop off all our guests at their hotels.

Our exclusive Konya Tour from Side allows you to explore the rich cultural treasures awaiting discovery in Konya. Join us on this unique tour to get to know real Anatolia and get an enlightenment unlike any other before.