Paul and Thekla
Seton Lloyd describes how modern research into the early Christian history of what is now Turkey has promoted an Apocryphal story from myth to reality.
Konya is a minor Turkish city, whose proudest memory is of the days when the Seluk Sultans of Rûm chose it as their favourite residence. Its material heritage from this source includes half a dozen rather dilapidated buildings, in the beautiful and curiously hybrid architectural style of the period, which has never, to my knowledge, been adequately analysed. The town is furthermore invested in eastern eyes with a peculiar sanctity as the home of the great thirteenth-century poet and mystic, Mevlana Jalal-ad-Din Rûmi. The affection and respect in which his memory is held by the modern inhabitants is reflected in their conspicuous decorum and a prevailing atmosphere of intellectual curiosity.
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