Hagia Eleni Church
The church was previously said to have been built in the 4th century A.D. during the pilgrimage of Empress Helena to the Holy Land. According to legend, she stopped in Sille en route and ordered this church to be built in order to serve the Christian community in the area. This makes it one of the earliest sites of Christianity in Anatolia. The church represents an outstanding sample of early Byzantine architecture with a basilica-type plan.
The church is a proof to the long existence of a Christian heritage in Konya, even after the city became an important center for the Seljuk Turks and Islam. Its proximity to Konya, with its associations with Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes, recommends this stop as something special for those interested in the varied cultural and religious history of the region. The Hagia Eleni Church is one of the major symbols of early Christianity in Anatolia and reflects the multi-religious rich past of Konya.
