Türbeönü, the Restored Bedesten Bazaar, Aziziye and Kapu Mosques

Halfway along the 1.2-kilometre walk from Alaeddin Hill to the Mevlana Museum spreads the commercial heart of old Konya: the Historic Bedesten Bazaar (Tarihi Bedesten Çarşısı) and the atmospheric cobbled square of Türbeönü ("In Front of the Tomb"). Over the past decade, Konya Municipality carried out one of the largest urban heritage restorations in Turkey here, stripping away 20th-century concrete signs to restore 40 streets and more than 2,600 traditional stone-and-timber shopfronts to their late-Ottoman appearance.

1. Aziziye Mosque (1872 to 1874, Ottoman Baroque Masterpiece)

Right in the middle of the bazaar square stands a mosque that looks completely unlike the austere 13th-century Seljuk monuments elsewhere in Konya: Aziziye Camii. Rebuilt in 1874 after a fire with financial backing from Pertevniyal Valide Sultan (mother of Sultan Abdülaziz), it is one of the finest late-Ottoman Turkish Baroque and Rococo mosques outside Istanbul:

• Unique Fountain Minarets: look closely at the bases of its twin minarets, each minaret rises directly out of the roof of a hexagonal marble ablution fountain (şadırvan) crowned by fluted stone columns and a dome, while the upper minaret balconies (şerefe) are roofed like miniature Baroque gazebos.
• Sunlit Windows: unlike dark medieval stone halls, Aziziye's prayer hall is pierced by huge arched windows wider than the walls between them, flooding the interior with daylight.

2. Kapu Mosque (1658 / 1868), Şerafettin Mosque and Shopping in the Bedesten

Two blocks west of Aziziye stands Kapu Camii ("The Gate Mosque"), the largest Ottoman mosque in the historic bazaar (named because it stood beside one of the ancient gates of Konya Castle), while on Mevlana Caddesi rises the tall central dome of Şerafettin Mosque. As you wander the pedestrian lanes of Kadınlar Pazarı (Melike Hatun Çarşısı, the fresh farmers' and cheese market) and the Bedesten, look for three local items to take home:

1. Konya Küflü Peyniri (Blue-Green Mould-Ripened Sheep's Cheese): aged for months in cool stone caves until veined like Roquefort (the star of Mevlana pidesi and morning melted peynir eritmesi).
2. Mevlana Şekeri (Peynir Şekeri): snow-white, melt-in-the-mouth bergamot- or rose-scented pulled sugar lozenges wrapped in cellophane, traditionally served after Mevlevi gatherings.
3. Traditional Hand-Felted Wool Hats & Rugs (Keçe): made by UNESCO Living Human Treasure felt-masters (such as Mehmet Girgiç's workshop in Türbeönü Çarşısı right opposite the Mevlana Museum).