Konya is one of Turkey's oldest continuously inhabited cities, lying at the heart of the Anatolian plateau at 1,016 m elevation. It served as the capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum (1077–1307) and is revered worldwide as the birthplace and final resting place of the 13th-century Sufi mystic and poet Mevlana Jalal ad-Din Rumi. The Mevlana Museum — one of Turkey's most-visited sites — draws pilgrims and curious travellers alike to its turquoise-tiled dome. Beyond spiritual tourism, Konya offers an extraordinary concentration of Seljuk monuments, a lively bazaar district, and a regional cuisine famous for etli ekmek (elongated meat-topped flatbread) and firin sut (baked milk dessert). As a conservative, predominantly religious city, Konya offers a glimpse of traditional Anatolian life rarely found in Turkey's coastal resorts.