These days when it comes to the mystical side of Islam you can hardly move for whirling dervishes, not all of them, it must be said, especially authentic.

But who ever hears anything about the Ahis, a group of medieval mystics who have been described as the Muslim equivalent of the Masons if only because, like the Masons, they were a secretive bunch of believers with strong links to the trades rather like the Western guilds. The Ahis drew their ideas from those of Ahi Evran (1171-1262), thought to have been a tanner who had arrived in Central Anatolia from his birthplace of Horasan. He died in Kırşehir, where his shrine is now an important place of pilgrimage.

Kırşehir is not a town that receives a lot of tourists even though it sits on one of the main roads from Ankara to Cappadocia. Most drivers -- and all the buses -- prefer to take the more westerly route that passes through Şereflikoçhisar even though the only attraction along the way is Tuz Gölü, the great Salt Lake. Here it’s possible to hop out for a tea break before attempting to walk towards what looks like a stretch of water quite close to the road but is more like a mirage in the desert, receding ever further away from you as you walk towards it. If you head out east through Kırıkkale, however, you can break your journey in a succession of small towns with enough in each of them to while away a couple of hours.

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Out of experience I can say that eastern parts of Turkey are so much worth a visit. Turkey is way more than only the places travel agents offer.