Konya

The capital of Konya Province, Konya City is located in the southeastern part of the Middle Anatolian Region, reaching 1027 meters in altitude. The city lies in the continental climate. Summers are hot and dry, winters snowy and cold, with the highest temperature recorded 40℃ annually, and lowest temperature -28℃. Being the largest city in Turkey, Konya has a population of 2.1 million and covers an area of 40249 square kilometers.

Konya was once a military town during the eras of Byzantine Empire and Ottoman Empire, even serving as the capital of the Byzantine Dynasty from 1076 to 1277. The place is the birthplace of the famous Turkish thinker and philosopher Rumi (Mevlana). Konya is well-known for its rich culture and time-honored history, thus named a “natural history and art museum”, housing 9 museums of different types and 3 famous mosques. The renowned Turkish University, Selçuk University, is also seated in Konya.

Konya is an important agricultural and industrial city in the central south of Turkey, a world-famous historical and tourist city, and a significant post on the Silk Road. The city bounds in pleasant natural scenery and natural resources. A highly-developed agriculture and a complete range of industries well furnished the city in marble mining and processing, chemistry, brick making, sugar, food processing, dairy ,oil ,limestone, feed processing, rubber, plastics ,timber, paper, building materials, copper,  aluminium ingot, farming machinery, cars and tractor parts. The industrial capability of Konya ranks the sixth in Turkey. About 33.3% of the population in Konya are engaged in agriculture, 22.6% in industry and building industry and 44.2% are in tertiary industries.

Konya has the reputation of being one of the more religiously conservative metropolitan centers in Turkey, with all the residents being believers of Islam.

Konya established sister-city relationship with Xi’an on September 8, 1996. The other sister cities include Sarajevo of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tetovo of the Republic of Macedonia and Multan of Pakistan.