Getting There

By Plane -- Turkish Airlines (tel. 0212/444-0849; www.thy.com), Atlasjet (tel. 444-3387; www.atlasjet.com) and Onur Air (tel. 444-6687; www.onurair.com.tr) provide service from Istanbul's Atatürk Airport to Konya. Pegasus (tel. 444-0737; www.flypgs.com) flies direct from Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport. Konya Airport is located about 17km (11 miles) outside of the center of town. The general information line at the airport is tel. 0332/239-1340.

A Havas (tel. 0212/444-0487, or in Konya at tel. 0332/239-0105) airport shuttle provides service from the airport to Konya center (the Is Bankasi at Alaattin Tepesi) with a stop at the otogar. Shuttles depart 25 minutes after the arrival of all flights. The ride takes about 30 minutes and costs 8TL. Shuttles to the airport depart daily at 4:45am, 7:45am and 9:30pm from the THY offices in Anit Meydani.

There is also a Europcar rental counter in the arrivals terminal, open daily from 8:30am to 7pm. The contact number for the current manager is tel. 0533/370-3090.

By Bus -- Countless bus companies run hourly service into Konya. These are (in Konya) Kontur (tel. 0332/353-0642), Meram (tel. 0332/265-0140), Metro (tel. 0332/265-0040), and Özkaymak (tel. 0332/265-0160). From Antalya, the ride takes about 5 hours, from Istanbul 9 hours, from Ankara 3 hours, from Izmir 8 hours, and from Nevsehir 4 hours. Fares reflect those on Metro buses.

From the otogar, try to hop on the Havas shuttle coming from the airport, or take the tramway (exit the main entrance, walking left along the main road toward the main intersection; the tramway is on the right corner). The ride takes about 45 minutes and is marked ALAADDIN (get off at Alaaddin Hill in the center of town); from there, the Balikçilar and Rumi are about a 10-minute walk down Alaaddin Caddesi in the direction of the Mevlana Museum, or you can hop on one of the frequent dolmuses plying the length of Mevlana Caddesi. Also from the otogar, a dolmus takes half the tramway's amount of time and costs about the same.

By Car -- The Mevlana museum as well as the city's other historical sites are located at the heart of the maze of roadways leading from the periphery to the city center. Just getting in from the highway can take a half-hour, so unless you're planning an overnight, a quick stopover at the tomb of Mevlana on your way down to the coast is not going to be as easy as you might think. From Nevsehir, it's an easy 3 hours through flatlands past Aksaray. It's another easy and scenic 3 hours over the Taurus Mountains via the excellent three-lane highway from Antalya to Konya (via Seydisehir). The road via Beysehir, passing by Lake Beysehir, is more scenic, but takes longer.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.