Silk Road Stops Around Konya: Zazadin Han, Obruk Sinkhole Lakes and Kilistra

Because Konya sat at the very hub of the medieval Seljuk Silk Road network, where royal caravans travelled under state insurance (kafalet) from one fortified stone inn to the next every 30 to 40 kilometres (the distance a loaded camel train could walk in one day), the plains and volcanic hills surrounding the city hold fortified caravanserais, surreal geological sinkholes and a mini-Cappadocia rock city.

1. Zazadin Han (1236 to 22 km north-east of Konya) & Horozlu Han

If you want to stand inside an authentic, uncrowded 13th-century Seljuk Silk Road caravanserai without driving two hours out of town, head just 25 minutes north-east of the Mevlana Museum to Tömek village to visit Zazadin Han (Sadeddin Köpek Kervansarayı). Built between 1235 and 1237 by the powerful Seljuk court emir and architect Sadeddin Köpek during the reign of Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I, this 104-metre-long stone fortress-inn is famous for its striking two-tone checkerboard exterior wall constructed from alternating blocks of white, honey and reddish recycled Roman/Byzantine limestone, enclosing a vast open summer courtyard and a vaulted winter hall where camel caravans rested in safety. (Right inside the northern city limits of Konya near Selçuklu YHT station also stands restored 1248 Horozlu Han, while 95 km east along the Cappadocia highway rises monumental 1229 Sultanhanı and Obruk Han).

2. The Turquoise Sinkhole Lakes of the Obruk Plateau (Çıralı, Kızören & Meyil)

Fifty to seventy kilometres north-east of Konya along the ancient Silk Road stretches the Obruk Plateau, famous for giant circular karst sinkholes (obruklar) formed when underground limestone caverns collapsed vertically into the water table:

• Kızören Obruk Lake (Right beside historic 13th-century Obruk Caravanserai): a 300-metre-wide circular mirror of deep blue-green water plunging 145 metres deep right in the middle of the flat golden steppe.
• Çıralı Obruk Lake & Meyil (Pink) Lake: at Çıralı Obruk, the sheer 80-metre limestone cliff walls surrounding the circular turquoise lake are carved with ancient Roman and Byzantine rock-cut cave dwellings and stairs high above the water.

3. Ancient Kilistra (Gökyurt, 45 km south-west of Konya on the King's Road)

Forty-five minutes south-west of Konya along the ancient Roman Via Sebaste in Meram lies Kilistra (ancient Lystra region), a hidden volcanic tuff valley that looks just like early Cappadocia, featuring the rock-carved 8th-century Cross-Plan Chapel (Haç Planlı Şapel), the Paulönü Cave Church, underground rock cisterns and watchtowers with almost zero crowds.