Iconium, modern Konya, is located in this region of open farmlands. It is today and was then the principal city of the region. Excavations have shown that Konya has been occupied continuously from the seventh millenium BC, making it one of the world’s oldest cities. Little of ancient times remains in Konya, the home of the "whirling dirvishes," a mystic Moslem sect. The church here became important enough that it hosted a church council in 235.