Kayseri (Turkish pronunciation:[ˈkajseɾi]) is a largecity inCentral Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital ofKayseri province. Historically known asCaesarea, it has been the historical capital ofCappadocia since ancient times. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is composed of five districts: the two central districts ofKocasinan andMelikgazi, and since 2004, also outlyingHacılar,İncesu, andTalas.
As of 31 December 2024, the province had a population of 1 452 458 of whom 1 210 983 lived in the four urban districts (Melikgazi, Kocasinan, Talas, Incesu), excludingİncesu which is not conurbated, meaning it is not contiguous and has a largely non-protectedbuffer zone.
Kayseri sits at the foot ofMount Erciyes (Turkish:Erciyes Dağı), a dormant volcano that reaches an altitude of 3,917 metres (12,851 feet), more than 1,500 metres above the city's mean altitude. It contains a number of historic monuments, particularly from theSeljuk period. Tourists often pass through Kayseri en route to the attractions ofCappadocia to the west. Kayseri is known for local dishes such assucuk,pastırma, andmantı, which are commonly associated with the region.
Kayseri has been equated with the earlyHittite kingdom ofKussara,[3] referenced sporadically in early Assyrian trading records.[4] It was calledMazaka orMazaca (Armenian:Մաժաք,romanized: Mažak'; according toArmenian tradition, it was founded by and named after Mishak)[5] and was known as such to the geographerStrabo, during whose time it was the capital of the Roman province ofCappadocia, known also asEusebia at the Argaeus (Εὐσέβεια ἡ πρὸς τῷ Ἀργαίῳ inGreek), afterAriarathes V Eusebes, King ofCappadocia (r. 163–130 BC).
In 14 AD its name was changed byArchelaus (d. 17 AD), the last King of Cappadocia (r. 36 BC–14 AD) and aRoman vassal, to "Caesarea inCappadocia" (to distinguish it from other cities with the nameCaesarea in the Roman Empire) in honour ofCaesar Augustus upon his death. This name was rendered asΚαισάρεια (Kaisáreia) inKoine Greek, the dialect of the laterByzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire, and it remained in use by the natives (nowadays known asCappadocian Greeks, due to their spoken language, but then referred to asRum due to their previous Roman citizenship) until theirexpulsion from Turkey in 1924. (Note that letterC in classicalLatin was pronouncedK. This pronunciation was adapted by the Arabs, who called the cityKaisariyah (قيصرية), and the Turks, who gave the city its current nameKayseri (قیصری)).[6]
Kayseri experienced three golden ages. The first, dating to 2000 BC, was when the city formed a trade post between theAssyrians and theHittites. The second came under Roman rule from the 1st to the 11th centuries. The third golden age was during the reign of theSeljuks (1178–1243), when the city was the second capital of theSeljuk Sultanate of Rum.
In Late Antiquity, the city may have contained a population of around 50,000 inhabitants and it was the highest ranked diocese up to thecouncil of Chalcedon.[8] Nothing remains of it today.Basil of Caesarea, one of theCappadocian Fathers, established a large complex containing charitable institutions, a monastery and churches, theBasiliad, in Caesarea Mazaca in the fourth century.[9] Nothing remains of it today.
The city was also situated on themain pilgrimage route from Constantinople to the Holy Land and had several shrines dedicated to local saints, such asSt Mamas,St Merkourious and Basil of Caesarea, which continued to be venerated by the local population into the 17th century.[9] The city was occupied by the Sassanids in 611/12 in thelast war between the Byzantines and the Sassanids and became the headquarter of emperorHeraclius.[8]
The city stood on a low spur on the north side ofMount Erciyes (Mount Argaeus in antiquity). Very few traces of the ancient site now survive.
From the mid-seventh century onwards,Arab attacks on Cappadocia and Caesarea became common and the city was besieged several times, diminishing in population and resources consequently.[10] TheArab general, and later the firstUmayyadCaliph,Muawiyah invadedCappadocia and took Caesarea from theByzantines temporarily in 647.[11] By the mid-eight century, the area between Caesarea and Melitene was a no-mans land.[10]
Though the city lost most of its importance by the tenth century, it probably still housed around 50,000 people.[12]Alp Arslan's forces demolished the city and massacred its population in 1067.[13] The shrine ofSaint Basil was also sacked after the fall of the city.[14] As a result, the city remained uninhabited for the next half century.[13]
From 1074 to 1178 the area was under the control of theDanishmendids who rebuilt the city in 1134.[15] TheAnatolian Seljuk Sultanate controlled the city from 1178 to 1243 and it was one of their most important centres until it fell to theMongols in 1243. The relatively short Seljuk period left a large number of historic landmarks including theHunat Hatun Complex, theKiliç Arslan Mosque, theUlu Camii (Grand Mosque) and theGevher Nesibe Hastanesi (Hospital). Within the walls lies the greater part of Kayseri, rebuilt between the 13th and 16th centuries. The city then fell to theEretnids before finally becomingOttoman in 1515. It was the centre of a sanjak called initially theRum Eyalet (1515–1521) and then theAngora vilayet (founded as Bozok Eyalet, 1839–1923).
Kayseri National War Museum (Formerly Kayseri High School)
The GrandBazaar dates from the latter part of the 1800s, but the adjacentcaravanserai, where merchant traders gathered before forming a caravan, dates from around 1500. The town's older districts which were filled with ornate mansion-houses mostly dating from the 18th and 19th centuries were subjected to wholesale demolition starting in the 1970s.[16]
Kayseri has ahumid continental climate (Köppen:Dsa,Trewartha:Dc). It experiences cold, snowy winters and hot, dry summers with cool nights. Precipitation occurs throughout the year, albeit with a marked decrease in late summer and early fall.
Climate data for Kayseri (1991–2020, extremes 1931–2023)
The city of Kayseri consists of sixteen metropolitan districts: Akkışla, Bünyan, Develi, Felâhiye, Hacılar, İncesu, Kocasinan, Melikgâzi, Özvatan, Pınarbaşı, Sarıoğlan, Sarız, Talas, Tomarza, Yahyâlı, and Yeşilhisar.
Gevher Nesibe Medrese (Çifte Medrese) is a historical twin-medrese complex located in Kayseri.
Cumhuriyet Square is a central public space in Kayseri, surrounded by notable buildings. Inside the centre of Kayseri the most unmissable reminder of the past are the huge basalt walls that once enclosed the old city. Dating back to the sixth century and the reign of theEmperor Justinian, they have been repeatedly repaired, by theSeljuks, by the Ottomans and by the Turkish government.[19] In 2019Kayseri Archaeology Museum moved from an outlying location to a new site inside the walls.[20]
TheGrand Mosque (Turkish:Ulu Cami) was started by theDanişmend emirMelik Mehmed Gazi who is buried beside it; it was completed by the Seljuks after his death.[19] The oldest surviving Seljuk place of worship and the oldest Seljuk mosque built in Turkey is theHunat Hatun Mosque Complex which includes a functioninghamam with separate sections for men and women dating back to 1238.[19]
Near the mosque is theSahabiye Medresesi, a theological school dating back to 1267 with a portal typical of Seljuk architecture.[19] In Mimar Sinan Park stands theÇifte Medresesi, a pair of Seljuk-era theological schools that eventually served as a hospital for those with psychiatric disorders. They were commissioned by the Seljuk sultanGiyasettin I Keyhüsrev and his sister,Gevher Nesibe Sultan, who is buried inside. The buildings house theMuseum of Seljuk Civilisations.[19][21]
The SeljukHalikılıç Mosque complex has two entrance portals. It dates back to 1249 and was extensively restored three centuries later.[19] TheGüpgüpoğlu Mansion which dates back to the early 15th century is a museum with the furnishings it would have had in the late 19th century when it was home to the poet and politician Ahmed Midhad Güpgüpoğlu.[19]
Close to the walls is Kayseri's ownKapalı Çarşı (Turkish:Kapalı Çarşı), a commercial centre. Inside it is the olderVezir Han which was commissioned in the early 18th centuryDamad İbrahim Paşa who was a grand vizier toSultan Ahmed III before being assassinated in 1730.[19]
The Kayseri suburb ofTalas was the ancestral home ofCalouste Gulbenkian,Aristotle Onassis andElia Kazan. Once ruinous following the expulsion of its Armenian population in 1915 and then of its Greek population in 1923, it was largely reconstructed in the early 21st century. The Greek Orthodox Church ofSaint Mary, built in 1888, has been converted into the Yaman Dede Mosque.[22] Similarly attractive is the suburb ofGermir, home to three 19th-century churches and many fine old stone houses.[23]
Mount Erciyes (Turkish:Erciyes Dağı) looms over Kayseri and serves as atrekking andalpinism centre. During the 2010s an erstwhile small, local ski resort was developed into more of an international attraction with big-name hotels and facilities suitable for all sorts of winter pastimes.[24][25]
The archaeological site ofKanesh-Kültepe, one of the oldest cities inAsia Minor, is 20 km northeast of Kayseri.[26]
Ağırnas, a small town with many lovely old houses, was the birthplace in 1490 of the greatOttoman architectMimar Sinan, and a house traditionally associated with him is open to the public as a museum. Beneath it there is one of the 'underground cities' so typical ofCappadocia. The restored Church ofSaint Procopius dates back to 1857 and serves as a cultural centre.[27]
The small town ofDeveli also contains some attractive old houses. The 19th-century Armenian Church ofSaint Mary has been turned into the Lower Everek Mosque (Turkish:Aşağı Everek Cami).[28]
Kayseri received notable public investments in the 1920s and 1930s. Sümer Fabric Factory andKayseri Tayyare Fabrikası (English: Kayseri Aeroplane Factory) were set up here in theRepublican Era with the help of German and particularly Russian experts. The latter manufactured the first aircraftmade in Turkey in the 1940s. After the 1950s, the city suffered from a decrease in the amount of public investment. It was, however, during the same years that Kayseri businessmen and merchants transformed themselves into rural capitalists. Members of Turkish business families such asSabancı,Has,Dedeman,Hattat,Kurmel,Özyeğin andÖzilhan started out as small-scale merchants in Kayseri before becoming prominent actors in the Turkish economy. Despite setting up their headquarters in cities such asIstanbul andAdana, they often returned to Kayseri to invest.
Thanks to the economic liberalisation policies introduced in the 1980s, a new wave of merchants and industrialists from Kayseri joined their predecessors. Most of these new industrialists choose Kayseri as a base of their operations. As a consequence of better infrastructure, the city has achieved remarkable industrial growth since 2000, causing it to be described as one of Turkey'sAnatolian Tigers.[29]
The pace of growth of the city was so fast that in 2004 the city applied to theGuinness Book of World Records for the most new manufacturing industries started in a single day: 139 factories. Kayseri also has emerged as one of the most successful furniture-making hub in Turkey earned more than a billion dollars in export revenues in 2007. Its environment is regarded as especially favourable forsmall and medium enterprises.
Kayseri Free Zone established in 1998 now has more than 43 companies with an investment of 140 million dollars. The Zone's main business activities include production, trading, warehouse management, mounting and demounting, assembly-disassembly, merchandising, maintenance and repair, engineering workshops, office and workplace rental, packing-repacking, banking and insurance, leasing, labelling and exhibition facilities. Kayseri FTZ is one of the cheapest land free zones in the world.[30]
A group of social scientists have examined the economic development of Kayseri, through the framework of a modernist Islamic outlook often referred to as “Islamic Calvinism.”[31] The term draws onMax Weber’s 1905 essayThe Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, which argued that the “this-worldly asceticism” of Calvinist ethics contributed to the emergence of modern capitalism. In a similar conceptual approach, scholars studying Kayseri have suggested that certain religious and cultural practices in the city encourage values such as disciplined work habits, thrift, and entrepreneurship, which they associate with local economic growth.[32]
An op-ed inThe Irish Times reported that luxury consumption appears relatively restrained and that financial resources are often directed toward long-term investment rather than visible expenditure. The piece described Kayseri’s more affluent areas as comparatively modest by European standards and noted that reinvestment in the local community is common.[33] Philanthropy constitutes another important component of local civic life. The city is known for privately funded schools, clinics, sports facilities, and community centers, which observers associate with longstanding traditions of charitable giving in Islamic practice and with broader patterns of community-based development.[33]
The city is served byErkilet International Airport (ASR) which is a short distance from the centre of Kayseri. It offers several flights a day to Istanbul.
Kayseri is connected to the rest of country byrail services. There are four trains a day toAnkara. To the east there are two train routes, one toKars and the other toTatvan at the western end ofLake Van.
As the city is located in central Turkey, road transportation is very efficient. It takes approximately three hours to reach Ankara, the same to the Mediterranean coast and 45 minutes toCappadocia. A notableski resort in winter and accessible for trekking in summer, Mt Erciyes is 30 minutes from the city centre.
Within the city transportation largely relies on buses and private vehicles although there is also alight rail transit (LRT) system calledKayseray which runs to the inter-city bus terminal and to Talas.[34]
The city had two professionalfootball teams competing in top-flightTurkish football.Kayserispor andKayseri Erciyesspor simultaneously play in theSüper Lig, making Kayseri one of only two cities having more than one team inSpor Toto Süper Lig 2013–14 (the other beingIstanbul). In 2006 Kayserispor became the only Turkish team to have won theUEFA Intertoto Cup. Kayserispor is the remaining professional team in the city, playing in the top flight as of 2023.
Kadir Has Stadium is a new generation stadium located in the outskirts of the city. Completed in early 2009, theall-seater stadium has a capacity of 33,000 spectators and is totally covered. It is shared by the two Kayseri football clubs. The stadium and surrounding sports complex are served by the light-rail system,Kayseray. The stadium was inaugurated with aKayserispor –Fenerbahce league match. Kadir Has Stadium was one of eight host stadiums for the2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup. It hosted the opening ceremony and the opening match betweenCuba and theRepublic of Korea. The stadium is named after Kayseri-nativeKadir Has, a Turkish industrialist and the founder of Has Holding andKadir Has University.[36]
Kayseri High School (Ottoman Turkish:Kayseri Mekteb-i Sultanisi) was founded in 1893 and is among the oldest secondary schools in Turkey.[37][38] Nuh Mehmet Küçükçalık Anatolian High School, established in 1984, provides instruction inEnglish.[39]TED Kayseri College, founded in 1966, is a private school located in theKocasinan district and serves students from kindergarten to high school.[40]Middle East Technical University Development Foundation Kayseri College was established in 1999.[41]Talas American College, established in 1889, operated as an American boarding school for many decades.[42][43]
Kayseri is home to fourpublic universities and oneprivate university.Abdullah Gül University, established in 2010, is the first public university in Turkey with legal provisions enabling support from a philanthropic foundation dedicated to its activities.[44]Erciyes University, founded in 1978, is the city’s largest higher education institution, comprising 13 faculties, six colleges, and seven vocational schools, with more than 3,100 staff members and 41,225 students.[45]Nuh Naci Yazgan University, founded in 2009, is the region’s only private university.Kayseri University, established after the separation of certain academic units from Erciyes University.University of Health Sciences Kayseri Medical School provides medical training and conducts research in the health sciences.[46]
^Wedderburn, A. (1980). "Towards Ideomatic Reconstruction in the Nilo-Saharan Complex." Nilo-Saharan Proceedings: Proceedings of the First Nilo-Saharan Linguistics Conference, Leiden, The Netherlands, September 8–10, 1980. (2019). Germany: De Gruyter.
^abAsh, John (2006).A Byzantine journey ([2. ed.] ed.). London: Tauris Parke Paperbacks. p. 167.ISBN9781845113070.In that year theTurks captured Caesarea, the chief city of eastern Cappadocia, burnt it to the ground, massacred its inhabitants and descrated the great shrine of Saint Basil.
^Vaughan, Louis Bréhier; translated by Margaret (1977).The life and death of Byzantium. Amsterdam: North-Holland Pub. Co . p. 193.ISBN9780720490084.In the spring of 1067 he invaded the Pontus and penetrated as far as Caesarea in Cappadocia which he demolished{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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