Yivli Minare Mosque
A few dark blue and turquoise tiles still decorate the Yivli Minare (Fluted Minaret), a graceful, 13th-century cylinder erected by the Seljuk sultan Alaaddin Keykubat I; the imam once climbed its narrow steps five times daily to give the call to prayer. The adjoining mosque was converted from a Byzantine church, and the remains (displayed under glass) of an 800-year-old water channel can be seen if you step inside. Within the pretty complex are two türbes (tombs) and an 18th-century tekke (lodge), which once housed a community of whirling dervishes and is now a small free museum devoted to the traditions of their Mevlevi Order. The old medrese (theological school) adjacent to the minaret has been covered under an unattractive bus-station-style roof and is a tourist-oriented shopping center, selling standard Turkish knick-knacks (think cotton clothes, pottery, copper work, carpets, and tiles). At the time of visiting the minaret is fenced off while undergoing some restoration works.
