Despite the existence of several interesting old buildings, Sivas is not an attractive town, having suffered badly from rebuilding work. Situated on the northwestern edge of a broad alluvial plain crossed by the River Kizilirmak, it is an important road and railroad junction. Cotton and metalworking are the main sources of employment.
History
Little is known of the town's early history. Excavations have unearthed the remains of a Hittite settlement. The town grew under Pompeius with the name of Megalopolis.
The Emperor Justinian built strong walls and elevated it to capital of Armenia Prima province, although the young Christian community here was then subjected to persecution by the Romans. The town came to prominence in this context when in A.D. 320, 40 soldiers from the 12th "Fulminata" legion were driven naked into the ice-cold Kizilirmak because of their beliefs. The "40 martyrs of Sebastea" thus became a part of religious history with March 10th as the anniversary. Sivas experienced a revival under the Seljuks in the 12th/13th century When the Mongols invaded around 1400, Sivas enjoyed the protection of a strong wall, but nevertheless Timur-Leng succeeded in taking the town after an eighteen-day siege. Christians (Greeks and Armenians) were murdered or sold as slaves. It was many years before Sivas recovered from this blow. In 1808, there were 16,000 inhabitants but trade and commerce did not equal the levels achieved during the city's heyday. However the foundation of the Turkish Republic gave Sivas a place in history as Mustafa Kemal Pasa (Atatürk) summoned the National Congress of the Freedom Movement (fourth-11th September 1919) here to call for national unity.
The karst landscape is a 100 km by 10 to 20 km wide area, underlain with Tertiary Era limestone. The river, flowing through red sandstone, gypsum, and marl, has given the water a reddish color.
The Muzafer Bürüciye Medresesi located a short distance from the Çifte Minareli Medrese in Sivas and to the northeast of the small park by Konak Meydani has recently become a museum. Built by the Mongol Muzafer in 1271, the interior conceals another mosque and the founder's mausoleum. The magnificent Seljuk facade is particularly impressive.
Directly opposite the Çifte Minareli Medrese in Sivas stands the Sifaiye Medresesi complex (Dar üs-Sifa), initially endowed as a hospital by the Seljuk Izettin Kaikavus I in 1217. The facade is decorated with a glazed earthenware mosaic. The founder's türbe can be found in the right eyvan of the courtyard.
The remains of the Çifte Minareli Medrese (1271) on Konak Meydani in the town center of Sivas are of architectural interest. It is named after the twin minarets ("çift", double). Only the front of the building with its decorative portal and the two minarets remain. The foundations are visible behind the portal in the park.
The remains of this Byzantine hermitage can be found in the mountains of the Yildiz Dagi, 120km/74mi northwest of Sivas. They lie on a slope facing the Yildiz Dagi volcano (2,537m/8,321ft) above the Bedohtunyazi valley.
10km/7mi east of Sivas beneath and to the south of the Seyfibeli mountain pass (road to Erzincan; 1,300m/4,264ft), a now ruined "gorge bridge" with seven pointed arches crossed the Kizilirmak.
At the southern end of Sivas, by the junction of the road to Kangal and Darende, an old dog-leg bridge ("egri", buckled) with eighteen arches crosses the Kizilirmak.
About 10km/7mi west of the regional center of Gemerek and about 115km/71mi southwest of Sivas on the Kayseri road the Sahrukköprü crosses the Kizilirmak just south of the village of Karaözü. Nearby is the Sahruk Köprüsü Hani which is thought to be of Seljuk origins. An old route across the Bozok Yaylasi to Yozgat and Kirsehir starts here.
To the east of the Atatürk Caddesi in Sivas behind the Meydan Camii stands a tomb to Sheik Hassan (1347) which looks like a cropped minaret (Güdük Minare). This unusually shaped building with a tiled upper section which changes from a triangular to a cylindrical form is built on a stone plinth.
Near the village of Hanli a short distance to the southwest of the administrative center of Kayadibi (50km/31mi southwest of Sivas) stands the Seljuk caravanserai known as Latif Hani.
To the east of the station in Sivas rises the citadel hill on which a two-tiered castle once stood. The hill is now laid out with an attractive garden which offers a fine view over the town. The Castle Mosque (Kale Camii) from Ottoman times is also situated here.
About 11km/7mi northeast of Kangal (90km/56mi southwest of Sivas) lie the Kavak thermal baths with a medicinal spring and an abundance of fish (Balikli Kaplica).
This many-arched "mutilated" bridge about 8km/5mi to the west of Sivas crosses the Kizilirmak before the river cuts through to the south. It marks the point where the old caravan route headed across the karst Yassibel pass (1,570m/5,150ft) to Kayseri.
At the junction of Atatürk Caddesi and Nalbantlar Basi Caddesi in Sivas, the remains of the old bazaar can be seen. Behind a small textile and leather bazaar stands the Ottoman Tas Hani caravanserai which was built by the town's governor in 1573.
The Grand Mosque in Sivas is situated to the south of the Sifaiye Medresesi northeast of the citadel hill. The plain pillared mosque is thought to date from about 1100. A staircase leads down to the extensive forecourt. The flat roof of the prayer room is borne by 50 squat, rectangular pillars which create an awe-inspiring impression. The slightly crooked minaret dates from the 13th century.
Formerly known as Yenihan after a 14th century caravanserai (restored in the 17th century but now ruined) the town lies about 70km/43mi west of Sivas. The single rooms of the old three-aisled caravanserai can still be seen in the central aisle with colonnaded halls along both side aisles. According to an inscription on the neighboring mosque it was built by Abu Sayid Bahadur Khan.
Another caravanserai (Saray Hani) can be found 20km/12mi to the south of the town on the Sivas road.
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Karst region around Sivas, Hafik and Zara
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Gemerek, Turkey
