South Central Anatolia forms the southern third of Central Anatolia.

Cities

• 1 Aksaray — an underrated town with many medieval mosques and monuments
• 2 Hacıbektaş — the site of the shrine of Hacı Bektaş Veli, a 13th century Sufi saint whose teachings led to the foundation of the Alevi-Bektashi interpretation of Islam
• 3 Karaman — a city midway between Konya and Adana, stopover en route to Northern Cyprus
• 4 Kayseri — a large city near Mt. Erciyes, a wintersports resort
• 5 Kırşehir is a large modern town with several antiquities. Çağırkan Japanese Garden is 30 km northwest towards Kaman.
• 6 Konya — the site of Rumi's mausoleum, and many beautiful Seljuk monuments
• 7 Nevşehir — the capital of Cappadocia
• 8 Niğde is near Gümüşler Monastery, carved from the bedrock.

Other destinations

• 1 Cappadocia — a land of "fairy chimneys" and underground cities
• 2 Çatalhöyük — one of the earliest known towns (7500-5700BCE), a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Understand

South Central Anatolia is home to the two jewels of Central Anatolia, Konya and Cappadocia, and therefore is the best-known part of the greater region by the international travellers.

It's mostly a flat, dry area of yellow, desert-like landscapes but with many historic sites and interesting views scattered about, it's seldom boring.

Early historians such as Xenophon (430–355 BC) mentioned the region as Lycaonia, a name which likely hints at an earlier connection with Lycia southwest.

Get in

Konya, Nevşehir, and Kayseri are served by airports with frequent domestic connections.

Highways all over the country are in good condition, and this region is no exception.

Konya and Karaman are served by high-speed rail. Conventional trains heading east from Ankara call at Kayseri, which has a high-speed line under construction as of 2023.

See

• Byzantine heritage: mostly religious architecture — churches and monasteries — out in the countryside near Konya, Karaman, Aksaray, Niğde, and Cappadocia.
• Seljuk heritage: Rumi's tomb and numerous mosques in Konya, as well as caravanserais and other mosques in Aksaray and Kayseri.
• Nature views: mostly of volcanic origins, Lake Meke east of Konya, hoodoos — "fairy chimneys" — of Cappadocia, the canyon of Ihlara Valley near Güzelyurt as well as Salt Lake north of Aksaray.

Do

• Skiing in Mt Erciyes near Kayseri.

Eat

• Local cuisine has a focus on mutton slowly cooked over wood fire. Tandır kebab is one such delicacy from Konya, while testi kebab is a Cappadocian specialty, a mixture of meat and vegetables cooked inside a single-use amphora.

Drink

• The volcanic soils of Cappadocia afford much wine production. But elsewhere, this is among the country's most conservative regions and public drunkenness is frowned upon.

Go next

• North Central Anatolia to the north and east
• Mediterranean Turkey to the south
• The Lakes District to the west