19 June, Konya
Mevlana Otel 70TL (breakfast included) (usual price 90TL)
Along with Jericho, Çatalhöyϋk outside
Konya is one of the oldest known sedentary or built settlements. Eight thousand
people lived here over 9,000 years ago. They lived in contiguous mud brick
homes, which were entered via the roof; access to other homes was over the
rooftops. They painted hunting scenes on their walls and buried their dead
under their floors. Charl and I took a local bus to the excavation site this
afternoon, and marvelled at how sophisticated the pottery and knives were so
very long ago. On the bus we met a young university research assistant who
pointed out several “mounds” to us in the flat Konya plain. These were used for
communication, the beacons lit on them being visible over long distances. He
also asked if we were following the World Cup and said that after the 2010
South African World Cup, the word “vuvuzela” had entered the Turkish vocabulary
and is applied to a wife who talks too much! During our bus ride back to the
city and incredible wind storm ripped several trees out of the ground.
Çatalhöyϋk - experimental reconstruction
Çatalhöyϋk - experimental reconstruction
Çatalhöyϋk - experimental reconstruction
Çatalhöyϋk
Çatalhöyϋk