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CHAPTER XXV.
Ulu Kishla— " German castles " —On the Great Plain—Eail to Konia
Shepherds—The runners at Karaman—Hotel de la Gare at Konia
—Konia a Seljuk capital—Iconium of St Paul—Moslem colleges
Konia as future Ottoman capital —Return to Ulu Kishla—A blizzard
—Snowed up.
Ulu Kishla is a mud-built village with an old stone
khan, various modern khans, and a new stone-built
railway station, and stands among the bare inland
spurs of the Tam'us where the widening defile has
opened to a valley. Here I left Ighsan with his
horse and most of the gear to await my return from
Konia. He was to rest, to smoke and sleep and drink
coffee in the village cafe, and gossip with the old men
;
and then, in a week's time, we would retrace our steps
to Ak Keupru, and thence, at last, go down through
the Cilician Gates to the Mediterranean coast and other
wanderings.
The train for Konia left before seven in the morning,
and the time-table gave it something like ten hours to
cover the hundred and fifty miles to that city. The
day was fine and bright, the carriage excellent, and
the company interesting—or I judged would prove so
—for two elderly, benevolent-lookiug Turkish officers,
resplendent in gold-lace on khaki, shared the compartment
with me. Wandering afoot was very fine, but
so also, I thought, was this change into a luxurious
railway carriage. And at Konia was said to be the
best hotel in inland Asia Minor. That, too, had