Alâeddin Mosque 🇹🇷

When you visit the centre of Konya, Turkey, you will find the Alâeddin Mosque perched atop Alaaddin Hill. As the largest surviving Seljuk mosque in the city, this monument once served as the principal prayer hall for the Seljuk Sultans of Rum and was constructed in stages between the mid-12th and mid-13th centuries. You can explore a complex shaped by centuries of history, built near an ancient acropolis and likely standing on the site of a former Christian basilica.

Inside, you will see remarkable historical craftsmanship, including a fine ebony minbar dating to 1155—the first dated example of Seljuk art in Anatolia—and a polychrome ceramic mihrab frame. Walk through the unusually open eastern wing to admire pillars made with re-used Byzantine columns and capitals, alongside a large room added by Sultan Alaaddin Keykubad I that is supported by forty-two columns. Outside, the courtyard features two monumental Seljuk mausolea (kümbets), including a ten-sided tomb with a conical roof housing the sarcophagi of eight Seljuk Sultans of Rum, as well as an unfinished marble mausoleum known as the Nameless Mausoleum.

Ottoman-era additions like the minaret and marble mihrab round out this extraordinary historic landmark.

What to see at Alâeddin Mosque

• Ebony minbar from 1155, the earliest dated example of Seljuk art in Anatolia
• Spacious eastern wing featuring re-used ancient Byzantine columns and capitals
• Large 13th-century prayer hall supported by forty-two columns
• Courtyard mausoleum holding sarcophagi of eight Seljuk Sultans of Rum
• Unfinished 13th-century octagonal marble tomb known as the Nameless Mausoleum

Visiting tips

Enter the mosque through the eastern door, an addition from the Ottoman period through which most visitors enter today.

How long: 1-2 hours · Best time: Early morning

How to get there & what’s nearby

Alâeddin Mosque is easy to reach on Konya’s public transport, and pairs naturally with Mevlâna Museum. For where to stay, the weather and full itineraries, see our Konya travel guide.