Hosted by Necmettin Erbakan University and organized with the contributions of its partner institutions, the 1st International Symposium on the Spiritual Architects of Konya: The Figures Who Built the City's Memory and Their Legacies will be held in Konya on 15–17 October 2026.

Throughout history, Konya has been one of Anatolia's foremost centers of learning, spiritual wisdom, and civilization; in particular, as the capital (Dār al-Mulk) of the Anatolian Seljuk State, it became one of the principal cities in which political, intellectual, and cultural life took shape. From the era of ancient Iconium through the Seljuk, Ottoman, and Republican periods, the city built a deep-rooted civilizational heritage not only through its architectural monuments but also through the scholars, Sufis, thinkers, statesmen, and artists it produced. This rich intellectual and spiritual heritage—extending from Hoca Ahmet Fakih to Mevlânâ, from Sadreddîn Konevî to Sâhib Ata, and from Hâdimî to Mehmed Vehbi—constitutes the essential elements of Konya's multilayered memory.

Through the edited volume to be published following the symposium, it is intended to provide the field with a lasting reference work.

Aim and Scope

This symposium aims to approach Konya not merely as a place, but as a "spiritual memory." The biographies of the figures who shaped the city, their works, their intellectual influences, the architectural and social institutions they left behind, their place in popular memory, and their impact reaching into the present day will be re-examined through the contributions of various disciplines such as history, theology, literature, art history, sociology, philosophy, the history of medicine, and urban studies.