We wake to the most horrid smell of sulphur and as we step outside, we see a haze over city. Mac n Tosh tootle over to tinkle on the oak tree and frantically sneeze as the pungent air singes their snout. They enjoy their final ball game on the free and absolutely fabulous Konya aire before we pack up and head off. Inland or to the coast, we really can’t decide.

Through Konya city dotted with hundreds of tiny domed bath houses and washing quarters. There function is primarily religious; to provide ritual cleansing and purification. Thousands of muslims flock to wash hands, lower arms, nose, mouth, ears, feet and ankles. Konya, the birth place of Rami is now a place of pilgrimage and one of the most Islamic places in all of Turkey. Ancient and modern mosques with towering minarets dominate the city skyline. There are more mosques than any other city in Turkey. The streets are full of people making their way to morning prayer. They look like football crowds on their way to the stadium.

After we filled Vin with V Power diesel (82p per litre), we climb the D330 in to the mountains. The views over Konya are wonderful. It is a still morning and shreds of mist have not yet dispersed. Either that or its the drift of sulphur cloud that made our eye water earlier this morning.

Road to Beysehir

After several coffee stops to admire our view we decided to stop at Beysehir. A university town on the shore of Lake Beysehir, one of Turkey’s largest freshwater lake. A really good call as Beysehir is really quite charming. Plus we found a great parking location on the pier looking west towards Taurus Mountains. So it was two happy travellers and two happy dudes settle into a sedate afternoon…after a bike ride of course.

Our Bumble free parking spot at Beysehir GPS position N037.674352, E031.713105

It feels ages since we had a ride on the brompton bikes and the dudes were so excited when the baskets appeared from the garage. They absolutely adore cycle rides. Its the first town in a long while that is reasonably flat with roads suitable for cycling. We cycle passed the wooden town houses with little gardens. But, without doubt we found the most beautiful wooden mosque in Turkey.

Alaeddin Keykubad the first prevailing on the Sultanate of Rumi in the Seljuk period. He created the current Beyşehir before it was found in 1285 and 1326. It was during this period that the great mosque Esrefoglu was built and is still visible today. It certainly is one of the jewels of the town. The turquoise coloured entrance is so pretty but inside, the wooden beams are extremely unusual. Some beams that lie in the heart of the prayer hall are enriched with motifs and painted in a subtle red (click to enlarge photos).

Not so far away is the old Koranic school Ismail Agha, the name of the Emir who was making its first renovation, which also dates from the Seljuk period. Used until 1912, it is also known under the name “Taş Medrese” because of stones of different sizes that constitute it.  Renovation works are underway although we get a feeling it may have been like this for sometime.

Down by the lake the tiny wooden boats bob away and we watch an old gentleman scramble down the rocks to his little boat. Minutes later he’s gone and off to catch fish for dinner.

We cycle up and down the alleys and observe life. A row of bright red chillies catches our eye and we tootle over. A chap feeding flared legged pigeon (not sure what they are called). Enes lives, with his wife and twenty or so relatives, in a labyrinth of buildings surrounding an underground, pigeon pen and courtyard. Nurhan squats on a rock and feeds the pigeons as the women grind corn for dinner.

Every piece of the corn and husk is used. I watch with fascination as the women work in harmony. All of a sudden, I am handed a silver dish with what look like bits of tiny husk. I really have no idea what to do with it. Do I eat it, take it to someone or just stand here looking like someone who hasn’t got a clue? Thankfully, an old woman comes to my rescue and guides me over to the pigeons. Ah, the husk it is used for the pigeons. I join Enes whilst the pigeons peck at our feet.

In the background, dinner is caught! A hen squarks but only for a second. Well, I think you can safely say the ingredients for dinner are certainly fresh. Jugs of water are brought from a nearby outside tap. I am invited to help out, so I take the water to the elders of the group. The corn flour is pounded by a woman who must be nearly 100 and who’s strength and rhythm is remarkable. A second chicken is caught and on that note, I realise Mac n Tosh are watering a rose bush.

The Beyşehir Stone Bridge is another iconic image of the city. It was built in the early twentieth century to mark the occasion of the railway line between Baghdad and Anatolia. It is also the first dam of the Ottoman Empire.

There is heat still left in the afternoon as we cycle back to our lakeside perch. The shore line is long but the water level is low. The edge of the lake is boggy marshland and full of moor hens and birds feeding in the reeds. The lake is calm and quiet dotted with fishermen try to stay out of each other’s way. Below us, a faded red and blue striped fishing boat, no more than 20 feet long, broken and embedded in the straw. It looks quite picturesque, until one of the other boats drives away. A slurry of sludge, litter and god only knows what else.

Our prime pier parking spot was made for sunset vistas. The magnificent view of the lake with the sun setting behind peaks of the Taurus Mountains. It is truly a magnificent sight to behold.