TOUR PROGRAM
December 12
We will depart from Istanbul Airport at 7:00 AM on Turkish Airlines flight TK2032, arriving at Konya Airport at 8:25 AM. After arriving at our hotel by private vehicle and settling in, we will enjoy a special welcome cocktail in the hotel's ballroom before meeting with our guide. Our first visit will be to the Mevlana Lodge. After greeting the revered Mevlana, we will meet with Keçeci Celalettin Dede and enjoy a conversation about Mevlevism. We will have lunch at the Lokmahane Restaurant, renowned for its unique cuisine. Following lunch, we will visit the Şems-i Tebrizi Mosque and participate in a conversation with Ms. Esin Çelebi, the 22nd-generation descendant of Mevlana, at her lodge. Afterwards, we will have free time; guests can return to the hotel to rest, or explore the bazaar. We will meet at the hotel for dinner. Our dinner, like our lunch, will be from the Mevlevi cuisine. After dinner, we will experience Mevlevi rituals in an inner and moving way. We will feel the Sema ceremony in our souls.
It will be a special evening where we will be inspired by the words of Mevlana: "Do not mistake those who are worshipped for those who truly worship; they are merely companions on the path." Overnight stay at Hich Hotel…
December 13
After breakfast at our hotel, we complete the check-out procedures. We visit the Karatay Madrasa, which houses unique examples of Seljuk tile art. Then we visit the Sille St. Helena Church, one of the first churches in Anatolia, and take a walk through this charming village. After free time for tea and coffee, we head towards Meram Gardens and stop at Cemo for meat bread and other local delicacies. We then proceed to the tomb of Ateşbaz-ı Veli, Mevlana's cook and one of the important figures of Mevlevi cuisine and, of course, for Mevlana. Here we listen to and feel that Mevlevi cuisine is not just food, but also a spiritual discipline and worship, and then we conclude our tour. After our tour, we return to our hotel, and after free time, we depart for the airport, bringing this special reunion to an end. Our evening flight will be at 21:40, TK 2039, Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul Airport.
