Kayseri Attractions

Although the city itself is an important industrial center and at first sight has little to offer the tourist, the magnificent mountain backdrop, the picturesque old town (part of which has been preserved) and the wealth of interesting monuments has helped to raise the city's tourist profile in recent years - despite or because of its proximity to the spectacular tuff chimney landscape of Cappadocia.

Visitors are recommended to include in their itinerary the remains of the old town, particularly around the citadel south of the Cumhuriyet Meydani. It is in this relatively small quarter of the town that the many Seljuk and Ottoman buildings can be found.

Kayseri has always been an important crossroads and also a central market town for inland Anatolia. In recent decades with its modern city center it has been able to make major strides towards industrialization. It has also an important carpet-making industry.

History

Until the fourth century the site of the modern city was covered with salt lakes and malaria-infested swamps, some of which were not finally drained until the last century. The first settlement was established ca. 150 B.C. but in 77 B.C. the town was overrun by the Armenian Tigranes, who forced the inhabitants to leave for Tigranocerta (Silvan) in northern Mesopotamia. Only when the latter had been captured by Pompeius were the deported population able to return to Eusebeia. In 41 B.C. the last king of Cappadocia Aruhelanus died to be replaced by the Roman Antonius. In 17 B.C., Tiberius, who later became Roman emperor, named the town Caesarea. When Cappadocia was partitioned under Emperor Valens, Caesarea became the provincial capital.

According to the first letter of the apostle Paul in which he addresses "the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia" (1 Peter 1:1), Christianity was well received by the townspeople and by the beginning of the third century, Caesarea was playing an important part in the advancement of Christian theological thinking.

At the heart of the town stands a monastery which was founded in the fourth century The new town was growing rapidly while the old buildings were decaying although some remains are still visible. After a disturbed period, in 1077 the town fell to Byzantium. In 1082 the Danishmends took control and then during the First Crusade (1096-99) the Crusader Godfrey of Bouillon occupied the town, which enjoyed great prosperity from the middle of the 12th century under the Seljuks. After a number of assaults it was overrun by the Mongols. After a period of Ottoman rule, in 1401 the Mongolian hordes under Timur recaptured the town, but by 1468 it had reverted to the Ottomans. Many years of peace allowed Kayseri to grow in importance as a provincial center. Around 1900 work started on the new town north of the citadel.