Daily Mevlana Museum & Tinaztepe Cave Tour from Konya

Konya Day Tour: Rumi's Mausoleum, Selimiye Mosque and the Tinaztepe Cave

This daily Konya tour to the Mevlana Museum and Tinaztepe Cave pairs the spiritual heart of the city with one of the most striking underground landscapes of Central Anatolia. Departing from Konya with hotel pickup, the daily excursion moves from the resting place of Rumi to a cavern shaped over centuries by flowing water, with a guided programme and lunch along the way.

• Mevlana Museum – Rumi's resting place and the historic lodge of the Whirling Dervishes
• Museum sections – the Matbah kitchen, the tombs, the Tilavet chamber and the Sema-Hane ritual hall
• Selimiye Mosque – an Ottoman mosque right beside the museum
• Lunch at an authentic local restaurant
• Tinaztepe Cave near Seydisehir, with travertines, stalactites, stalagmites and small lakes

The Mevlana Museum is the tomb of the 13th-century Sufi mystic and poet Mevlana, known worldwide as Rumi. For centuries the complex served as the tekke of the Mevlevi order, the community famous for the whirling sema ceremony. Your guide leads you through the open sections: the Matbah, where dervish novices were trained in the kitchen, the tomb chamber, the Tilavet room once used for Quran recitation, and the Sema-Hane where the ritual dance took place. Next door stands the Selimiye Mosque, commissioned by Sultan Selim II; work started in 1558 while he was still a prince and was finished in 1567, soon after he took the throne.

After lunch the Konya day trip heads southwest towards Seydisehir. Tinaztepe Cave lies near Kecili Village, about 35 km from the town and close to the Seydisehir-Manavgat road. The cave stretches for roughly 1,580 metres and, apart from a descent of around 30 metres at the entrance, it runs almost level, which makes it comfortable to explore. Water seeping through the ceiling and walls has created travertine terraces, stalactites and stalagmites, while the large hall at the far end holds an underground lake. The physical level is easy, but comfortable shoes with good grip are recommended inside the cave. It is a rewarding day tour from Konya for travellers who want both culture and nature in a single outing.