Alaaddin Camii

Konya's most important religious building after the Mevlâna shrine, this Seljuk mosque bestrides Alaaddin Tepesi. You may be able to wander in outside the listed opening hours. Built for Alaeddin Keykubad I, Sultan of Rum from 1219 to 1231, the rambling 13th-century building was designed by a Damascene architect in Arab style. Over the centuries it was embellished, refurbished, ruined and restored. Today, the mosque is entered from the east. The grand original entrance on the northern side incorporates decoration from earlier Byzantine and Roman buildings. The courtyard here features two huge Seljuk türbes (tombs), the left of which is the most impressive part of the complex, containing the blue-tiled tombs of 12th- and 13th-century notables. The mosque's exterior is otherwise plain, but the interior has old marble columns surmounted with recycled Roman and Byzantine capitals. There's also a fine wooden mimber and an old marble mihrab framed by modern Seljuk-style blue-and-black calligraphy.