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Travel Information

BY AIR:

Turkish Airlines, Anadolu Jet and Pegasus Airlines offer flights from Istanbul to Konya Airport (IATA: KYA, ICAO: LTAN), located about 18 km out of city. In the summer period it’s also possible to fly from various European countries, such as Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Denmark. The easiest and cheapest way to get to the city centre from the airport is to take the shuttle buses provided by Havaş, which takes around 30 minutes and costs 9 TL pp

BY TRAIN:

Until recently trains constituted a slower alternative to travelling by bus or car. However with the new high-speed trains (Yüksek Hızlı Treni, abbreviated YHT) all that have changed, journey time from Ankara have been massively reduced to just 1:40 h, down from almost ten hours (in pure theory, though, as Turkish State Railways never offered passenger trains between Ankara and Konya before, due to the absurdly long de-tours across the country the rail network formerly took between these two neighbouring cities)! Although not offering the charm of travelling while enjoying the landscapes slowly changing on the other side of the window, these new trains makes it much more practical to reach Konya. As of now there are fours trains every day, however more depatures will be added in the near future.

From Istanbul, there are still two nightly sleeper services (via İzmit, Eskişehir-Enveriye station, Kütahya, and Afyon), the Meram Express departing at 7:40PM from Haydarpaşa station and arriving in Konya just before 9AM the following day. İçanadolu Mavi Treni departs later in the evening at 11:50PM and is a bit slower, not arriving until afternoon to make its brief stop-over on its way to Adana (via Karaman). Fares starts at 35 TL for second class, 77 TL for first class sleepers.

The Konya railway station is located in the suburb of Meram, some distance from the centre; it is easy enough to take a taxi from the station to the centre, but surprisingly some of the taxi drivers are not familiar with the locations of the main hotels. Alternatively it is about 30–40 minutes’ walk to the city centre, given you don’t have heavy backpacks.

As all the rail works is not finished yet, expect (temporary) cancellations of many inter-city train services. There is usually a replacement bus waiting but there will be delays. Always check with the Turkish State Railways

BY BUS:

There are a number of travel agencies on Mevlana Caddesi, Konya’s main street, where you can buy bus tickets. The destinations they deal with are written outside

Konya’s bus station (otogar) has good connections to a wide range of destinations, including Istanbul (~10 hours, 40 TL.), Izmir (~9 hours, 30 TL.), Ankara (3.15 hours, 20TL), and Cappadocia (~3 hours)
When you are issued a bus ticket you will be told which gate at the station your bus will leave from; you need to be vigilant, however, as the buses sometimes park at another gate close by.
The bus station is several kilometres (7km) away from Konya’s main sites of interest, most of which are located around Alaaddin Tepesi in the city centre. A number of minibuses depart from outside the bus station, of which some stop in or near Alaaddin Tepesi: these take about 30 minutes and should cost less than 2 YTL. Alternatively, Konya’s tram line—which conveniently has a stop at otogar—terminates in a loop around Alaaddin Tepesi: this also takes about 30 minutes and costs 1 YTL per person.

BY CAR:

Konya is a 3-hour drive from Ankara and 10 hours (660km) from Istanbul. From Izmir you will get in 7 hours in Konya. Also it takes 3 and half hour from Antalya by car.

Restaurants:

• Etliekmek — some sort of long and thin pizza (with meat or cheese) which can possibly exceed 1 mt in length! Available at a lot of restaurants in Konya.
• Gülbahçesi Restaurant, (at the backside of Mevlana Museum), ☎ +90 332 353 07 68 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting FREE +90 332 353 07 68 end_of_the_skype_highlighting (bilgi [at] gulbahcesikonyamutfagi [dot] com)
• Traditional Turkish/Central Anatolian cuisine served in traditionally decorated rooms. A nice view of Mevlana Museum and its garden.
• Adanali Köfteci Osman, (near the train station). “Adana”-style kebab, grilled meat. Not expensive.
• Asya Restaurant. Traditional cuisine.
• Kösk Mutfagi, Piri Esat Cad. (at the end of Mengüc Cad., approx. 500 mt from Mevlana Museum), ☎ +90 332 352 85 47 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting FREE +90 332 352 85 47 end_of_the_skype_highlighting (info [at] koskkonyamutfagi [dot] com).
• Traditional cuisine. Located in a renovated historical mansion. No alcohol served. Has a carpark in front. Not expensive.
• Restaurant Mahmut Keten, Israsyon-Feritpasa Caddesi Mahmuruiye Mah. Keten Apt (right next to the train station), ☎ +90 0332 322 22 03 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting FREE +90 0332 322 22 03 end_of_the_skype_highlighting. The place is not used to tourist, the menu is in turkish only and the staff not fluent in english. But they are extremely helpful and friendly. They have tasty salads and meats. Try their thinly cut lamb in butter sauce. No alcohol. YTL 10 for main.
• Mithat Tirit, (Very close to Aziziye Mosque. Also around Mevlana Museum). One of the delicious and famous restaurants of Konya. It’s famous for with the special kebap Tirit.
• Fast food — Burger King, McDonald’s and some other American-style fast-food restaurants, as well as ever omnipresent döner, are also available around the city.

Hotels:

Konya Hilton Garden Inn (4*)
Next to Mevlana Culture Centre, 500m. from Mevlana Museum *
Only 20 minutes from Konya (KYA) Airport*

Get out:

• Çatalhöyük is a prehistoric archeological site located about an hour’s drive away from Konya. Its importance lies in the fact of being one of the earliest and well preserved human settlement sites discovered.
• Tuz Gölü (literally Salt Lake), about an hour away on the road north to Ankara, is Turkey’s second largest lake after Lake Van, although only about 2 (yes, two) meters deep at most. During summer months, it literally evaporates and leaves behind a flat and completely white landscape, just like a salt desert. It’s also a good spot for birdwatching as it’s an important stop-over for migratory birds on their route from Europe to Africa and vice versa during spring and autumn.
• Cappadocia, about three hours to east, is the most logical next stop on your itinerary around Central Anatolia.
• Silifke, about 250 km to south, can be a good point of entry into the Mediterranean Turkey from Konya, as the town is located at about the midway of two extremes of Turkish Mediterranean coast.
Hitchhiking
• If you intend to head south by hitchhiking, take public bus #26 heading east on Mevlana(Karaman Yolu, fare: YTL 1.10/person) from the stops in front of the Governor’s Office (Valilik/Vilayet) in the city centre, about 5-10 minutes walk away from Rumi tomb/Mevlana Museum (leaving at 6:00, 6:30, 7:10, 7:30, 7:50, 8:30, 9:45, 11:00, etc., the bus stop has a posted schedule if you plan to leave later). #26 takes you to the highway leading to south. You can stay on until it arrives at the steppes out of city, almost until the middle of nowhere. Don’t get off the bus until it leaves the highway by turning left into a narrower road. If you plan to head toward Antalya, sit on the right side of the bus and get off when you see the large sign indicating the junction of highways D330, D715, and D696, about 15 min or so from the center. Go to the D696 on- ramp to hitch to Antalya, a short walk from the intersection.