Anatolia's Greatest Wonders
5 Nights | 3 Cappadocia · 1 Pamukkale · 1 Kuşadası — fairy chimneys, Pamukkale's white travertines and Ephesus.
The former lodge of the 13th-century poet and Sufi mystic Rumi holds his tomb beneath a green dome, with centuries of manuscripts and Mevlevi ceremonial objects on display.
The Mevlana Museum occupies the site where the poet, theologian, and Sufi mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi lived and taught in the 13th century. Rumi died in Konya in 1273 and was buried here; his tomb, topped with a distinctive green dome, remains the spiritual centre of the complex. After the Ottoman Empire closed the Sufi orders in 1925, the former Mevlevi lodge was converted into a museum.
The mausoleum itself is entered through a carved wooden gate and reveals the tomb in a candlelit space draped with textiles. A selection of Rumi's manuscripts, including pages from the Masnavi, his vast spiritual poetry, are displayed nearby along with calligraphic fragments. The collection also includes the felt hats and cloaks worn by dervishes during ceremony, copper ceremonial objects, and old musical instruments — particularly the reed flute, or ney, that features so prominently in Rumi's poetry as a symbol of spiritual longing.
The adjoining rooms trace the history of the Mevlevi order, the Sufi brotherhood Rumi founded. His son Sultan Walad established the lodge as an organised community, and over centuries it grew into a complex of meditation rooms, dormitories, and a school. The sema ceremony — the ritual of whirling prayer — developed here, turning contemplative movement into a form of devotion. Photographs and objects document how this practice continued in Konya long after it was suppressed elsewhere in the Ottoman world.
Visitors often pause in the garden, where the sound of water from the fountain carries through the courtyard. The museum is one of the most visited in Türkiye, drawing people from across a wide range of backgrounds — scholars, pilgrims, and those simply curious about the poet whose verses appear on walls and in books far beyond Konya.
5 Nights | 3 Cappadocia · 1 Pamukkale · 1 Kuşadası — fairy chimneys, Pamukkale's white travertines and Ephesus.
2 Nights | 1 Pamukkale · 1 Kuşadası — Mevlana's Konya, Pamukkale's white travertines and Ephesus.
8 Nights | 3 Istanbul · 3 Cappadocia · 1 Pamukkale · 1 Kuşadası — Hagia Sophia, fairy chimneys, white travertines and Ephesus.
Our groups are capped at eight travellers, which is about a third of what the industry calls a small group. Eight people share one vehicle, one table at dinner and one guide's attention, and the day can change on the road without anybody being left behind. If you are looking for a coach, a fixed script and a microphone, this is not that.
Most days involve real walking, often on ground that was laid two thousand years before walking shoes: marble worn smooth, cobbles, uneven steps and long site paths with little shade. Bring shoes you can spend a morning in.
Some days move between regions and are largely a drive, with stops along the way. Summers are hot — well over 35°C inland — and winters are colder than most people expect, so layers, a hat and sunscreen earn their place in the bag whatever the month.
How demanding a particular trip is, is written on the trip itself: the physical rating in the header, and the day-by-day itinerary above.
Trip prices are per person, sharing a twin room. Each traveller picks their own room while booking, so a party can mix the three:
Solo travellers are welcome on every departure, and most of our groups have one or two aboard.
Trip prices are per person, sharing a twin room. Each traveller picks their own room while booking, so a party can mix the three:
Solo travellers are welcome on every departure, and most of our groups have one or two aboard.
The hotels named in an itinerary are a guideline rather than a guarantee. Where one is full, or has dropped below the standard we booked it for, we substitute a property of a similar standard in the same area — we would rather change the hotel than the trip.
Check-in is usually mid-afternoon. If you arrive early we will ask for the room, but no hotel can promise one before its own check-in time; luggage can normally be left at reception in the meantime. If you want the room from the night before, ask us and we will add the extra night to your booking.
The hotels named in an itinerary are a guideline rather than a guarantee. Where one is full, or has dropped below the standard we booked it for, we substitute a property of a similar standard in the same area — we would rather change the hotel than the trip.
Check-in is usually mid-afternoon. If you arrive early we will ask for the room, but no hotel can promise one before its own check-in time; luggage can normally be left at reception in the meantime. If you want the room from the night before, ask us and we will add the extra night to your booking.
Entry requirements depend on your nationality and change without much notice, so the only reliable source is the official one: the government of the country you are travelling to, and your own foreign ministry's travel advice. Check both before you book a flight.
Many countries ask for a passport valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates, and for blank pages. It is worth looking at yours now rather than at the airport.
We ask every traveller to carry travel insurance covering medical treatment and repatriation, and we would strongly encourage cover for cancellation and for your luggage as well.
Entry requirements depend on your nationality and change without much notice, so the only reliable source is the official one: the government of the country you are travelling to, and your own foreign ministry's travel advice. Check both before you book a flight.
Many countries ask for a passport valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates, and for blank pages. It is worth looking at yours now rather than at the airport.
We ask every traveller to carry travel insurance covering medical treatment and repatriation, and we would strongly encourage cover for cancellation and for your luggage as well.
Once a departure is on the calendar it runs. We do not cancel a trip for want of a minimum number of bookings, so a booked date is one you can plan flights and leave around.
What can move is the shape of a day. Museums and archaeological sites change their hours, roads close, weather turns, a local holiday lands in the middle of the week. Where that happens your guide reorders the day, or swaps a stop for one of the same weight, and tells you why. Changes to a booked itinerary are covered by our Booking Terms & Conditions.
Once a departure is on the calendar it runs. We do not cancel a trip for want of a minimum number of bookings, so a booked date is one you can plan flights and leave around.
What can move is the shape of a day. Museums and archaeological sites change their hours, roads close, weather turns, a local holiday lands in the middle of the week. Where that happens your guide reorders the day, or swaps a stop for one of the same weight, and tells you why. Changes to a booked itinerary are covered by our Booking Terms & Conditions.