Develi, formerly known as Averak, is a town and district in Kayseri Province in Central Anatolia Region, Turkey.

History

The historical name of the town is Everek and it is called ''Averak'' (oren, ruin) in Armenian. The historian, geographer, who lived in the fourteenth century, gives the name of the butcher Mustavfi as Davalu. According to him, it was a medium-sized city and its walls were rebuilt by Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin. In the work called Cihannüma, written in the seventeenth century, the name of the town is called Davahlu. According to historical sources, cultural traces of civilizations that lived in Develi between 2500-2000 BC have been found. There is still a need for scientific research in Develi, which hosts many civilizations in the historical process between the

Copper Age The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...

, the Bronze Age and the Seljuk Period. The Fatih Mosque of Lower Everek, () which has its origins as a 200-year-old Armenian church in Everek quarter is making local news in recent years, since the decaying building had been first transformed into a mosque in 1978 and, when routine maintenance works were initiated in 1998, it was discovered that the interior decoration was still very much present, simply covered with plaster as they were during the 1978 transformation. The discovery led to an ongoing divergence of opinions between the national authority for foundations, responsible for maintenance of mosques in Turkey, which is in favor of covering the cross and Virgin Mary figures again, and Kayseri Governorship's cultural protection unit which advocates a restoration to their state of origin, a move that would put an end to the edifice's use as a mosque, this use currently being restrained to a part of the building until an official decision is made. In 2004, in order to protect the cultural heritage, the works were ordered to be stopped by the then mayor of Develi, Ali Ağca, while an intermediate solution was found in between. St Toros

Logo

The logo of the Develi Municipality features the

Seyrani Monument The Seyrani Monument is a monument in Develi, Kayseri, Turkey, dedicated to Seyrani (1800–1866) who was born in the town. It was created in 1976 by the sculptor Gürdal Duyar on commission of the mayor of the Develi, and has since become a symb ...

and mausoleum of Dev Ali in front of Mount Erciyes among other elements such as flamingos. It is not to be confused with the corporate identity of Develi which features a Seljuk motif, or the red logo of the Develi ''

Kaymakamlik Kaymakam, also known by many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been retained an ...

.''

References

External sources

Develi Municipality

Develi District Governorship

Develi web portal
* Krikorian, Aleksan. Evereg-Fenesse: Its Armenian History and Traditions. Detroit, MI: Evereg-Fenesse Mesrobian-Roupinian Educational Society, 1990. 186 pp.
Evereg Fenesse Educational Society
* Der-Sarkissian, Jack. “A Tale of Twin Towns: Everek and Fenesse.” Armenian Kesaria/Kayseri and Cappadocia . Ed. Richard G. Hovannisian. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers, 2013. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260676697_A_Tale_of_Twin_Towns_Everek_and_Fenesse {{Authority control Kayseri Populated places in Kayseri Province Towns in Turkey

History

Logo

See also

References

External sources