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.