Konya is located in Central Turkey. Its known roots goes back to Late Copper Age. The Hittites of The Late Bronze Age called it Kuwanna. As a Roman city, it was named Iconium. St.Paul and St.Barnabas came to the city around 50 AD, and in Christian legend, it was also the birthplace of Saint Thecla. Later on it became the capital of the Seljuk Turkish Sultanate (from the 11th to the 13th centuries). In this period Konya became the centre of the Sufi Mevlevi Order and its Whirling Dervishes, and has been for 800 years. There are numerous great Seljuk buildings to see in Konya. One of them is Mevlana Museum which shelters the tomb of Jelaleddin Rumî, known to his followers as Mevlana, a Muslim poet and mystic and one of the great spiritual thinkers and teachers of all time. One of his most known sayings goes;

Whoever you may be, come
Even though you may be
An infidel, a pagan, or a fire-worshipper, come
Our brotherhood is not one of despair
Though you have broken
Your vows of repentance a hundred times, come