Kayseri () is a large

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of

Kayseri province The Kayseri Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality in central Turkey. Its area is 16,970 km2, and its population is 1,441,523 (2022). It borders with Sivas, Adana, Niğde, Kahramanmaraş, Yozgat and Nevşehir provinces. T ...

. Historically known as

Caesarea Caesarea, a city name derived from the Roman title " Caesar", was the name of numerous cities and locations in the Roman Empire: Places In the Levant * Caesarea Maritima, also known as "Caesarea Palaestinae", an ancient Roman city near the modern ...

, it has been the historical capital of

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

since ancient times. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is composed of five districts: the two central districts of

Kocasinan Kocasinan is a municipality and district of Kayseri Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,471 km2, and its population is 409,005 (2022). It covers the northern part of the agglomeration of Kayseri and the adjacent countryside. The name comes from ...

and

Melikgazi Melikgazi is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Kayseri Province, Turkey. Its area is 668 km2, and its population is 594,344 (2022). It covers the southern and eastern part of the agglomeration of Kayseri and the adjacent cou ...

, and since 2004, also outlying

Hacılar Hacılar is a municipality and district of Kayseri Province, Turkey. Its area is 187 km2, and its population is 12,465 (2022). The mayor is Bilal Özdoğan ( AKP). Composition There are 12 neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth E ...

, İncesu, and Talas. 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), excluding İncesu which is not conurbated, meaning it is not contiguous and has a largely non-protected

buffer zone A buffer zone, also historically known as a march, is a neutral area that lies between two or more bodies of land; usually, between countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them. Common types o ...

. Kayseri sits at the foot of

Mount Erciyes Mount Erciyes () is an inactive volcano in Kayseri Province, Turkey. It is a large stratovolcano surrounded by many Monogenetic volcanic field, monogenetic vents and lava domes, and one maar. The bulk of the volcano is formed by lava flows of And ...

( Turkish: ''Erciyes Dağı''), a dormant volcano that reaches an altitude of , more than 1,500 metres above the city's mean altitude. It contains a number of historic monuments, particularly from the

Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...

period. Tourists often pass through Kayseri en route to the attractions of

to the west. Kayseri is served by

Erkilet International Airport Erkilet International Airport or Kayseri Erkilet Airport is a military airbase and public airport located north of Kayseri in the Kayseri Province of Turkey. The airport is a major hub for travel to Cappadocia. Facilities The prior capacity of ...

and is home to

Erciyes University Erciyes University (), commonly referred to as ERU, is a public research university located in Kayseri, Turkey. Established in 1978, the university has become a center for education, research, and innovation, contributing to academic and scientifi ...

Etymology

Kayseri has been equated with the early Hittite kingdom of

Kussara Kussara (''Kuššar'') was a Middle Bronze Age kingdom in Anatolia. The kingdom, though apparently important at one time, is mostly remembered today as the origin of the dynasty that would form the Old Hittite Kingdom. Location Kussara is occasion ...

, referenced sporadically in early Assyrian trading records. It was called ''Mazaka'' or ''Mazaca'' (; according to

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

tradition, it was founded by and named after Mishak) and was known as such to the geographer

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

, during whose time it was the capital of the Roman province of

, known also as ''Eusebia at the Argaeus'' ( in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

), after Ariarathes V Eusebes, King of

(r. 163–130 BC). In 14 AD its name was changed by Archelaus (d. 17 AD), the last King of Cappadocia (r. 36 BC–14 AD) and a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

vassal, to "

" (to distinguish it from other cities with the name ''Caesarea'' in the Roman Empire) in honour of

Caesar Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in ...

upon his death. This name was rendered as (''Kaisáreia'') in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

, the dialect of the later

Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

, and it remained in use by the natives (nowadays known as

Cappadocian Greek Cappadocian Greek (, also known as Cappadocian is a dialect of modern Greek, originally spoken in Cappadocia (modern-day Central Turkey) by the descendants of the Byzantine Greeks of Anatolia. The language originally diverged from Medieval Gree ...

s, due to their spoken language, but then referred to as

Rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

due to their previous Roman citizenship) until their expulsion from Turkey in 1924. (Note that letter ''C'' in classical

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

was pronounced ''K.'' This pronunciation was adapted by the Arabs, who called the city ''Kaisariyah'' (), and the Turks, who gave the city its current name ''Kayseri'' ()).

History

Kayseri experienced three golden ages. The first, dating to 2000 BC, was when the city formed a trade post between the

Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...

and the

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...

. The second came under Roman rule from the 1st to the 11th centuries. The third golden age was during the reign of the

Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of th ...

(1178–1243), when the city was the second capital of the

Seljuk Sultanate of Rum The Sultanate of Rum was a culturally Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim state, established over conquered Byzantine territories and peoples ( Rum) of Anatolia by the Seljuk Turks following their entry into Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 ...

Ancient history

As Mazaca (), the city served as the residence of the kings of

. In ancient times, it was on the crossroads of the trade routes from

Sinop Sinop can refer to: * Sinop, Turkey, a city on the Black Sea ** Sinop Nuclear Power Plant, was planned in 2013, but cancelled in 2018 ** Battle of Sinop, 1853 naval battle in the Sinop port *** Russian ship ''Sinop'', Russian ships named after the ...

e to the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

and from the

Persian Royal Road The Royal Road was an ancient highway reorganized and rebuilt for trade by Darius the Great, the Achaemenid emperor, in the 5th century BC. Darius I built the road to facilitate rapid communication on the western part of his large empire from S ...

that extended from

Sardis Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...

Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...

during the 200+ years of Achaemenid Persian rule. In

times, a similar route from

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

to the East also crossed the city. In Late Antiquity, the city may have contained a population of around 50,000 inhabitants and it was the highest ranked diocese up to the

council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; ) was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia (modern-day Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey) from 8 Oct ...

. Nothing remains of it today.

Basil of Caesarea Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (330 – 1 or 2 January 379) was an early Roman Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia from 370 until his death in 379. He was an influential theologian who suppor ...

, one of the

Cappadocian Fathers The Cappadocian Fathers, also traditionally known as the Three Cappadocians, were a trio of Byzantine Christian prelates, theologians and monks who helped shape both early Christianity and the monastic tradition. Basil the Great (330–379) wa ...

, established a large complex containing charitable institutions, a monastery and churches, the

Basiliad The Basileias (also ''Basiliados'') was an ancient multi-functional philanthropic and monastic institution in Caesarea Mazaka in Cappadocia founded in the late fourth century by Basil of Caesarea, after whom it was named. While the exact nature ...

, in Caesarea Mazaca in the fourth century. Nothing remains of it today. The city was also situated on the main pilgrimage route from Constantinople to the Holy Land and had several shrines dedicated to local saints, such as St Mamas, St Merkourious and Basil of Caesarea, which continued to be venerated by the local population into the 17th century. The city was occupied by the Sassanids in 611/12 in the last war between the Byzantines and the Sassanids and became the headquarter of emperor

Heraclius Heraclius (; 11 February 641) was Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular emperor Phocas. Heraclius's reign was ...

. The city stood on a low spur on the north side of

(''Mount Argaeus'' in antiquity). Very few traces of the ancient site now survive.

Medieval history

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. The

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

general, and later the first

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

Caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

, Muawiyah invaded

and took Caesarea from the Byzantines temporarily in 647. By the mid-eight century, the area between Caesarea and Melitene was a no-mans land. Though the city lost most of its importance by the tenth century, is housed probably still around 50,000 people.

Alp Arslan Alp Arslan, born Muhammad Alp Arslan bin Dawud Chaghri, was the second List of sultans of the Seljuk Empire, sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk (warlord), Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty and the empire. He g ...

's forces demolished the city and massacred its population in 1067. The shrine of

Saint Basil Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (330 – 1 or 2 January 379) was an early Roman Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia from 370 until his death in 379. He was an influential theologian who suppor ...

was also sacked after the fall of the city. As a result, the city remained uninhabited for the next half century. From 1074 to 1178 the area was under the control of the

Danishmendids The Danishmendids or Danishmends () were a Turkish dynasty. These terms also refer to the Turkish state in Anatolia. It existed from 1071/1075 to 1178 and is also known as the Danishmendid Beylik (). The dynasty was centered originally around Siv ...

who rebuilt the city in 1134.

Speros Vryonis Speros Vryonis Jr. (, July 18, 1928 – March 12, 2019) was an American historian of Greek descent and a specialist in Byzantine, Balkan, and Greek history. He was the author of a number of works on Byzantine and Greek-Turkish relations, includ ...

Vryonis Decline of Medieval Hellinism in Asia Minor , PDF , Anatolia , Byzantine Empire
''The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the Process of Islamization from the Eleventh through the Fifteenth Century''. (

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

Press, 1971), p. 155 The

Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate The Sultanate of Rum was a culturally Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim state, established over conquered Byzantine territories and peoples (Rum) of Anatolia by the Seljuk Turks following their entry into Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. T ...

controlled the city from 1178 to 1243 and it was one of their most important centres until it fell to the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

in 1243. The relatively short Seljuk period left a large number of historic landmarks including the Hunat Hatun Complex, the Kiliç Arslan Mosque, the ''Ulu Camii'' (Grand Mosque) and the '' Gevher Nesibe Hastanesi'' (Hospital). Within the walls lies the greater part of Kayseri, rebuilt between the 13th and 16th centuries. The city then fell to the

Eretnids The Eretnids () were a dynasty that ruled a state spanning central and eastern Anatolia from 1335 to 1381. The dynasty's founder, Eretna, was an Ilkhanid officer of Uyghur origin, under Timurtash, who was appointed as the governor of Anatolia. ...

before finally becoming Ottoman in 1515. It was the centre of a sanjak called initially the

Rum Eyalet Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced in nea ...

(1515–1521) and then the

Angora vilayet The Vilayet of Angora () or Ankara was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, centered on the city of Angora (Ankara) in north-central Anatolia, which included most of ancient Galatia. Demographics At the beginni ...

(founded as Bozok Eyalet, 1839–1923).

Modern era

The Grand

Bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...

dates from the latter part of the 1800s, but the adjacent

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...

, 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. The building that hosted the Kayseri Lyceum was rearranged to host the

Turkish Grand National Assembly The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

during the

Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

when the

Greek army The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches of the Hellenic Armed F ...

was advancing on

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, the base of the Turkish National Movement.

Geography

Climate

Kayseri has a

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''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.

Districts

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.

Notable sites

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 the

Emperor Justinian Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition w ...

, they have been repeatedly repaired, by the

, by the Ottomans and by the Turkish government. In 2019

Kayseri Archaeology Museum Kayseri Archaeology Museum is a museum in Kayseri, Turkey. Kayseri Archeology Museum, which has been serving here for about 50 years, has been moved to the new museum building within the Kayseri Castle and has been opened to visitors since 19 Octo ...

moved from an outlying location to a new site inside the walls. The Grand Mosque (

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

: ''Ulu Cami'') was started by the Danişmend emir

Melik Mehmed Gazi Melik Mehmed () or Muhammad Ghazi, (died 1142) was the fourth ruler of the Danishmendids. Life Early Life Mehmed was one of the sons of the Danishmendid Emir Gazi. During his father's reign, Mehmed served under his father in various militar ...

who is buried beside it; it was completed by the Seljuks after his death. The oldest surviving Seljuk place of worship and the oldest Seljuk mosque built in Turkey is the Hunat Hatun Mosque Complex which includes a functioning

hamam A hammam (), also often called a Turkish bath by Westerners, is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the Islamic culture, culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...

with separate sections for men and women dating back to 1238. Near the mosque is the Sahabiye Medresesi, a theological school dating back to 1267 with a portal typical of Seljuk architecture. In Mimar Sinan Park stands the Çifte 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 sultan Giyasettin I Keyhüsrev and his sister, Gevher Nesibe Sultan, who is buried inside. The buildings house the Museum of Seljuk Civilisations. The Seljuk Halikılıç Mosque complex has two entrance portals. It dates back to 1249 and was extensively restored three centuries later. The Güpgüpoğlu 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. Close to the walls is Kayseri's own Kapalı Çarşı (

: ''Kapalı Çarşı''), a commercial centre. Inside it is the older Vezir Han which was commissioned in the early 18th century Damad İbrahim Paşa who was a grand vizier to Sultan Ahmed III before being assassinated in 1730.

Around Kayseri

The Kayseri suburb of Talas was the ancestral home of

Calouste Gulbenkian Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (; ; 23 March 1869 – 20 July 1955) was an Ottoman-born British Armenian businessman and philanthropist. He played a major role in making the petroleum reserves of the Middle East available to Western development a ...

Aristotle Onassis Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; , ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975) was a Greek and Argentine business magnate. He amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and was one of the world's richest and most famous men. He was marri ...

and

Elia Kazan Elias Kazantzoglou (, ; September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003), known as Elia Kazan ( ), was a Greek-American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one of the most honored and inf ...

. 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 of

Saint Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, built in 1888, has been converted into the Yaman Dede Mosque. Similarly attractive is the suburb of Germir, home to three 19th-century churches and many fine old stone houses.

(

: ''Erciyes Dağı'') looms over Kayseri and serves as a

trekking Backpacking is the outdoor recreation of carrying gear on one's back while hiking for more than a day. It is often an extended journey and may involve camping outdoors. In North America, tenting is common, where simple shelters and mountain hu ...

and

alpinism Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

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. The archaeological site of Kanesh-Kültepe, one of the oldest cities in

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, is 20 km northeast of Kayseri.

Ağırnas Ağırnas is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Melikgazi, Kayseri Province, Turkey. Its population is 2,554 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). It lies at a distance of from central Kayseri. His ...

, a small town with many lovely old houses, was the birthplace in 1490 of the great Ottoman architect

Mimar Sinan Mimar Sinan (; , ; – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha (title), Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman Empire, Ottoman architect, engineer and mathematician for sultans Suleiman ...

, 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 of

. The restored Church of Saint Procopius dates back to 1857 and serves as a cultural centre. The small town of

Develi Develi, formerly known as ''Averak'' or ''Everek'', is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Kayseri Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,892 km2, and its population is 66,840 (2022). History The historical name of the town is Eve ...

also contains some attractive old houses. The 19th-century Armenian Church of

has been turned into the Lower Everek Mosque (

: ''Aşağı Everek Cami'').

Economy

Kayseri received notable public investments in the 1920s and 1930s. Sümer Fabric Factory and ''Kayseri Tayyare Fabrikası'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

: Kayseri Aeroplane Factory) were set up here in the

Republican Era Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

with the help of German and particularly Russian experts. The latter manufactured the first aircraft ''made 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 as Sabancı, Has, Dedeman, Hattat, Kurmel, Özyeğin, Karamanlargil and Özilhan started out as small-scale merchants in Kayseri before becoming prominent actors in the Turkish economy. Despite setting up their headquarters in cities such as

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

and

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

, 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's

Anatolian Tigers In the context of the Turkish economy, Anatolian Tigers () are a number of cities in Turkey which have displayed impressive growth records since the 1980s, as well as a defined breed of entrepreneurs rising in prominence and who can often be trac ...

. The pace of growth of the city was so fast that in 2004 the city applied to the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

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 for

small and medium enterprises Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by many national agencies and international organizat ...

. 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. A group of social scientists have traced the economic success of Kayseri, a city in central Turkey, to a modernist Islamic outlook referred to as "Islamic Calvinism." This concept is drawn from

Max Weber Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist, and political economy, political economist who was one of the central figures in the development of sociology and the social sc ...

's influential 1905 essay, ''

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'' () is a book written by Max Weber, a German sociologist, economist, and politician. First written as a series of essays, the original German text was composed in 1904 and 1905, and was trans ...

'', which argued that the "this-worldly asceticism" of Calvinism was the driving force behind the development of modern capitalism. In a similar vein, these scholars suggest that the religious and cultural practices in Kayseri, rooted in a modern interpretation of Islam, fostered values such as hard work, thrift, and entrepreneurial spirit, which contributed to the city's economic growth. In Kayseri, a notable characteristic of the local culture is a form of austerity, which can be observed alongside a strong work ethic. According to an op-ed in ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'', "The city's streets are not crowded with luxury cars, and the homes in its wealthiest neighborhoods are relatively modest compared to European standards. Rather than conspicuous consumption, wealth is often reinvested into the community." Philanthropy plays an important role in the city, aligning with the Islamic emphasis on charity. Kayseri is known for its privately funded institutions, including schools, clinics, sports facilities, and community centers, reflecting a focus on communal support and development.

Transport

The city is served by

(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 by

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' (1967 fil ...

services. There are four trains a day to

. To the east there are two train routes, one to

Kars Kars ( or ; ; ) is a city in northeast Turkey. It is the seat of Kars Province and Kars District.� ...

and the other to

Tatvan Tatvan (; ) is a city on the western shore of Lake Van, in Bitlis Province in eastern Turkey. It is the seat of Tatvan District.Lake Van Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...

. 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 to

. A notable

ski Skis are runners, attached to the user's feet, designed to glide over snow. Typically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins c ...

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 a light rail transit (LRT) system called

Kayseray Kayseray () is a light rail street-tram system operating in the city of Kayseri in Turkey. The tracks and station structures were completed and the line opened in 2009. History The project began in January 2006, with a completion target of 1,065 ...

which runs to the inter-city bus terminal and to Talas.

Sports

Kadir Has Kongre ve Spor Merkezi Kayseri

The city had two professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

teams competing in top-flight

football.

Kayserispor Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, and also called Bellona Kayserispor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the RHG Enertürk Enerji Stadium ...

and

Kayseri Erciyesspor Kayseri Erciyesspor was a Turkish sports club based in Kayseri. History In 1965, Orhan Şefik Apak, then president of the Turkish Football Federation, asked cities in Turkey to combine their amateur football clubs into one singular club that wo ...

simultaneously play in the

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

, making Kayseri one of only two cities having more than one team in Spor Toto Süper Lig 2013–14 (the other being

). In 2006 Kayserispor became the only Turkish team to have won the

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

. Kayserispor is the remaining professional team in the city, playing in the top flight as of 2023. The Erciyes Ski Resort on

is one of the largest

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

s in Turkey. The women's football club Kayseri Gençler Birliği was promoted to the Women's First League for the 2020–21 League season.

Sports venues

Kadir Has Stadium The Kadir Has Stadium (), also referred to as RHG Enertürk Enerji Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Kayseri, Turkey. It is part of a complex of sports venues that are on the outskirts of the city, as part of the Atat ...

is a new generation stadium located in the outskirts of the city. Completed in early 2009, the

all-seater stadium An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football and Amer ...

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,

. The stadium was inaugurated with a

– Fenerbahce league match. Kadir Has Stadium was one of eight host stadiums for the

2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the nineteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It ran from 21 June to 13 July 2013. At the FIFA Executive Meeting in Zürich on 3 March 2011, ...

. It hosted the opening ceremony and the opening match between

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

and the

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. The stadium is named after Kayseri-native Kadir Has, a Turkish industrialist and the founder of Has Holding and

Kadir Has University Kadir Has University (), often abbreviated as KHAS, is a private non-profit university in Fatih, Istanbul, established in 1997 by Kadir Has, the late Turkish industrialist and philanthropist.

. * Kadir Has Sports Arena is an indoor arena opened in 2008. It has

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

for 7,200 people. Together with

, it is a part of the Kayseri Kadir Has Sports Complex, one of Turkey's most modern sports complexes. It was one of the venues for the

2010 FIBA World Championship The 2010 FIBA World Championship was the 16th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship contested by the List of men's national basketball teams, men's national teams. The tournament ran from 28 August to 12 Septem ...

Education

Kayseri High School (

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish (, ; ) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. ...

: ''Kayseri Mekteb-i Sultanisi'', ''lit.'' the Imperial School of Kayseri), founded in 1893, is one of Turkey's oldest high schools. It has a long history of providing quality education and has played a key role in the region's educational development. ''Nuh Mehmet Küçükçalık Anadolu Lisesi'', established in 1984, offers education in

. TED Kayseri College, founded in 1966, is a private, non-profit school in the

district, serving kindergarten through high school.

Middle East Technical University Middle East Technical University (commonly referred to as METU; in Turkish language, Turkish, ''Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi'', ODTÜ) is a prestigious public university, public Institute of technology, technical university located in Ankara, ...

Development Foundation Kayseri College follows

METU Middle East Technical University (commonly referred to as METU; in Turkish, ''Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi'', ODTÜ) is a prestigious public technical university located in Ankara, Turkey. As Turkey’s top ranked university, they focus on r ...

's educational philosophy, offering a comprehensive curriculum. Talas American College, established in 1871, has a rich legacy as an American school and continues to influence the region's education. Although the school is no longer active, its historical contributions to education in Kayseri continue to be remembered. Kayseri is home to four

public universities A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

and one

private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

Abdullah Gül University Abdullah Gül University (AGU) is a public university located in Kayseri, Turkey. Inaugurated in 2010, AGU offers 12 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs through its five schools. The university is one of only four public universities in Turkey, ...

, established in 2010, is the first public university in Turkey with legal provisions for support by a philanthropic foundation dedicated entirely to its work.

, founded in 1978, is the city's largest

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...

. It currently has 13 faculties, six colleges, and seven vocational schools, with over 3,100 staff members and 41,225 students. Nuh Naci Yazgan University, founded in 2009, is the only private university in the region. Kayseri University, established more recently, contributes to the city's academic landscape with a focus on a diverse curriculum. University of Health Sciences Kayseri Medical School also plays a significant role in the city's educational offerings, providing specialized medical training and research opportunities. These institutions collectively contribute to Kayseri's growing reputation as an educational hub.

Image gallery

File:Döner Kümbet.jpg, Döner Kümbet, a 13th-century

tomb, notable for its octagonal shape and intricate stone carvings. File:Kadir Has Stadion.JPG,

, a football stadium in Kayseri. File:Kayseri Kadir Has Stadium 12.jpg,

, a football stadium in Kayseri. File:Kayseri Kadir Has Stadium 13.jpg,

, a football stadium in Kayseri. File:Kayseri Kadir Has Stadium 9.jpg, An interior view of

. File:2013 - panoramio (207).jpg, Forum Kayseri, a shopping center featuring retail stores, dining options, and entertainment facilities. File:Kayseri Bürüngüz Camii ve Erciyes Dağı.jpg, A panoramic view of Kayseri. File:Kayseri Saat Kulesi 02.jpg, Kayseri Clock Tower, a historic

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building ...

located in the city center. File:Yaman Dede Konağı - Talas Kayseri.jpg, A historic house in Kayseri, showcasing the region's traditional architecture. File:Erciyes Universität (2).JPG,

, a major research university in Kayseri. File:Hunat Hatun Külliyesi 02.jpg, Hunat Hatun Medresesi, a 13th-century Islamic school and complex. File:Asur Ticaret Tableti, Kiçikapı - panoramio.jpg, Statue of an Assyrian Tablet, a replica of an ancient Assyrian tablet displayed in Kayseri. File:Panaghia Kirche.JPG, A historic building in Talas that was originally a

church and has been converted into a mosque. File:Wild horses1.jpg,

, a prominent volcanic mountain near Kayseri, known for its ski resort and hiking trails. File:Kayseri Ethnography Museum 2481.jpg, Kayseri Ethnography Museum, a museum focuses the region's cultural heritage.

Notable people

Nuri Demirağ Nuri Demirağ (1886 in Divriği – November 13, 1957, in Istanbul) was an early Turkish industrialist and politician, who was one of the first millionaires of the Turkish Republic. Biography His first enterprise was a cigarette paper facto ...

(1883–1957), Turkish engineer, businessman and politician of founder in Millî Kalkınma Partisi *

(1488–1588), the chief Ottoman architect for

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

Selim II Selim II (; ; 28 May 1524 – 15 December 1574), also known as Selim the Blond () or Selim the Drunkard (), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1566 until his death in 1574. He was a son of Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Hurrem Sul ...

and

Murad III Murad III (; ; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Safavid Iran, Safavids. The long-inde ...

(1869–1955), British-Armenian businessman and philanthropist, shareholder of

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

Nubar Gulbenkian Nubar Sarkis Gulbenkian (; 2 June 1896 – 10 January 1972) was an Armenians, Armenian-British people, British business magnate and Playboy (lifestyle), socialite born in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire. During World War II, he helped organ ...

(1896–1972), British-Armenian business magnate and

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

Atilla Engin Atilla Engin (1946-2019) was a Turkish American fusion jazz drummer. From 1974 to 2001 he was active in Denmark as a musician and educator; he organized music festivals and represented Denmark as a musical ambassador. In 2001, he left Denmark f ...

(1946–2019),

Turkish-American Turkish Americans () or American Turks are Americans of ethnic Turkish origin. The term "Turkish Americans" can therefore refer to ethnic Turkish immigrants to the United States, as well as their American-born descendants, who originate eith ...

fusion jazz Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

drummer *

Hagop Kevorkian Hagop Kevorkian (; 1872 – 1962) was an Armenian-American archeologist, connoisseur of art, and collector. Originally from Kayseri, and a graduate of the American Robert College in Istanbul, he settled in New York City in the late 19th century, ...

(1872–1962), Armenian-American archeologist, connoisseur of art, and collector *

(330–378), Early Roman Christian prelate, one of the

and

Doctor of the Church Doctor of the Church (Latin: ''doctor'' "teacher"), also referred to as Doctor of the Universal Church (Latin: ''Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis''), is a title given by the Catholic Church to saints recognized as having made a significant contribut ...

Kadi Burhan al-Din Kadi Ahmad Burhan al-Din (8 January 1345, Kayseri – 1398, Sivas) poet, scholar, and statesman. He was vizier to the Eretnid rulers of Anatolia. In 1381, he took over Eretnid lands and claimed the title of sultan for himself. He is most often ...

(1345–1398),

Vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

to the

Eretnid The Eretnids () were a dynasty that ruled a state spanning central and eastern Anatolia from 1335 to 1381. The dynasty's founder, Eretna, was an Ilkhanid officer of Uyghur origin, under Timurtash, who was appointed as the governor of Anatolia. ...

rulers of

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

* Ferruh Güpgüp (1891–1951), Turkish politician, one of the first women parliament members of Turkey * Konstantinos Adosidis, (1818–1895), Ottoman-appointed

Prince of Samos The Principality of Samos (, ; ; ) was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire from 1834 to 1912. The island of Samos had participated in the Greek War of Independence since 1821 and successfully resisted several Turkish and Egyptian a ...

from 1873 to 1874 *

Turhan Feyzioğlu Turhan Feyzioğlu (1922 – 24 March 1988) was a Turkish academic and a politician. Early life He was born in Kayseri. After finishing the primary school in Kayseri, he attended Galatasaray High School and later studied at Istanbul University ...

(1922–1988),

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

professor, politician and first Turkish rector of

* Mehmet Burak Erdoğan (1972–...), Turkish mathematician at the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

* Kadir Bal (1966–...), Turkish bureaucrat, diplomat and engineer *

(1906–1975),

business magnate A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

Ziya Müezzinoğlu Ziya Müezzinoğlu (1919–2020) was a Turkish economist, diplomat and politician. He held various posts, including ambassador of Turkey to West Germany and minister of finance. Early life and education Müezzinoğlu was born in Kayseri on 5 May ...

(1919–2020), Diplomat and former Turkish Minister of Finance, Minister of Commerce * Ahmet Cemal Eringen (1921–2009), Engineering scientist, professor at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

* Arthur H. Bulbulian (1900–1996),

Armenian-American Armenian Americans () are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after Armenians in Russia. The first major wave of Armenian immig ...

physician and inventor *

Paisios of Mount Athos Saint Paisios of Mount Athos (, ; secular name: Arsenios Eznepidis (); 1924–1994), was a Greek Eastern Orthodox ascetic from Mount Athos, originally from Pharasa, Cappadocia. Today, he is widely venerated by Eastern Orthodox Christians, par ...

(1924–1996), Well-known

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

ascetic and Athonite monk * Nazım Terzioglu (1912–1976), Turkish mathematician * Tosun Terzioğlu (1942–2016), Turkish mathematician and former president of

Sabancı University Sabancı University () is a private research university that adopts a liberal arts education approach, established in 1994 and located on a 1.26 million squaremeter campus which is about 40 km from Istanbul's city center. Its first students ...

Carrie Farnsworth Fowle Carrie Farnsworth Fowle (November 27, 1854 – December 26, 1917), born Caroline Palmer Farnsworth, was an American missionary, born in Turkey. Early life and education Caroline Palmer Farnsworth was born and raised in Cesarea, Turkey, the da ...

(1854–1917), American missionary *

Edgar Manas Edgar Manas Effendi (; April 12, 1875 in Istanbul – March 9, 1964 in Istanbul) was a Turkish composer, conductor and musicologist of Armenian descent. He is one of the three co-composers of the Turkish National Anthem, as he made the arrangement ...

(1875–1964), Turkish-Armenian composer of the

Turkish National Anthem Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

, member of the Manas family *

Metin Kaçan Metin Kaçan (15 November 1961 – 6 January 2013) was a Turkish author, who is best known for his novel ''Ağır Roman (novel), Ağır Roman'' (''Cholera Street''), which was translated into German (Kaçan 2003), and a movie (''Ağır Roman (fil ...

(1961–2013), Turkish male writer of Ağır Roman and brother

Hasan Kaçan Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People *Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scotti ...

Hulusi Akar Hulusi Akar (born 12 March 1952) is a retired four-star Turkish Armed Forces general who served as the Minister of National Defense from 2018 to 2023. He previously served as the 29th chief of the Turkish General Staff. Akar also served as a bri ...

(1952–...), Turkish soldier and politician in the

former A former is an object, such as a template, gauge or cutting die, which is used to form something such as a boat's hull. Typically, a former gives shape to a structure that may have complex curvature. A former may become an integral part of the ...

General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces The General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces ( Turkish: ''Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri Genelkurmay Başkanlığı'', ''abbreviation: TSK Gnkur. Bşk.lığı'') is the highest staff organization in the Turkish Armed Forces. Chief of the General S ...

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, former

Minister of National Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

and in the 28th

AK Party The Justice and Development Party ( , AK PARTİ), abbreviated officially as AK Party in English, is a political party in Turkey self-describing as conservative-democratic. It has been the ruling party of Turkey since 2002. Third-party sources ...

Kayseri Kayseri () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...

member of parliament *

Şule Yüksel Şenler Şule Yüksel Şenler (29 May 1938 – 28 August 2019) (Born Yüksel Şenler) was a Turkish writer, journalist. She devoted herself throughout her life to improving the status of conservative women in Turkish society and became a leading role mode ...

(1938–2019), Turkish Islamist women writer, poet, senarist and

Islamic democracy There exist a number of perspectives on the relationship between the religion of Islam and democracy (the form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state and democracy) among Islamic political th ...

activist * Vahan Cardashian (1882–1934),

political activist and lawyer *

Hacı Ömer Sabancı Hacı Ömer Sabancı (1 January 1906 – 2 February 1966) was a Turkish entrepreneur, who founded a number of companies, which later formed the second largest industrial and financial conglomerate of Turkey, the Sabancı Holding. He initiat ...

(1906–1966), Turkish businessperson and founder of

Sabancı Holding Hacı Ömer Sabancı Holding A.Ş., commonly abbreviated as Sabancı Holding, is an industrial and financial conglomerate with headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey. The company's primary activities are in financial services, energy (electricity genera ...

* Teodor Kasap (1835–1897),

Ottoman Greek Ottoman Greeks (; ) were ethnic Greeks who lived in the Ottoman Empire (1299–1922), much of which is in modern Turkey. Ottoman Greeks were Greek Orthodox Christians who belonged to the Rum Millet (''Millet-i Rum''). They were concentrated in ...

newspaper editor and educator *

İhsan Ketin İhsan Ketin (10 April 1914 – 16 December 1995) was a Turkish earth scientist. Early years He was born in 1914 in the Central Anatolian town of Kayseri, located at the foothills of Mt. Aergus (the volcano Erciyes). He won a state scholarship ...

(1914–1995), Turkish

earth scientist Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...

Pavlos Karolidis Pavlos Karolidis or Karolides (, c. 1849 – 26 July 1930) was a Greek historian who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Life Karolidis was born in 1849 in the village of Androniki (, now a suburb of Kayseri) in Cappadocia. Hi ...

(1849–1930), Greek historian * Nikolaos Alektoridis (1874–1909),

painter and a member of the Munich School *

Hüsnü Özyeğin Hüsnü Özyeğin (born 1 September 1944) is a Turkish billionaire businessman. He founded Finansbank in 1987 and later sold the Turkish division of the bank. Nowadays, his financial investments are managed under Fiba Holding while non-financial ...

(1944–...), Turkish businessperson, founder of

Finansbank QNB Türkiye was a Turkish bank with headquarters in Istanbul. It was established by Turkish financier Hüsnü Özyeğin in 1987 and for a period was the Turkish bank with the largest network of foreign branches. Its Turkish operations were purch ...

and

Özyeğin University Özyeğin University is a private, non-profit university located in Istanbul, Turkey. History Established in 2007 by the Hüsnü M. Özyeğin Foundation, Özyeğin University is an entrepreneurial research university focused on global impact ...

* Emmanouil Emmanouilidis (1867–1943),

MP for the

Committee of Union and Progress The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, also translated as the Society of Union and Progress; , French language, French: ''Union et Progrès'') was a revolutionary group, secret society, and political party, active between 1889 and 1926 ...

Krikor Balyan The Balyan family (; ) was a prominent Armenian family in the Ottoman Empire of court architects in the service of Ottoman sultans and other members of the Ottoman dynasty during the 18th and 19th centuries. For five generations, they designed ...

(1764–1831), Patriarch of the Armenian

Balyan Family The Balyan family (; ) was a prominent Armenians, Armenian family in the Ottoman Empire of court architects in the service of List of Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultans and other members of the Ottoman dynasty during the 18th and 1 ...

of Ottoman court architects * Berna Gözbaşı (1974–...), Turkish businesswoman and the former president of

* Missak Kouyumjian (1877–1913),

poet *

Sakıp Sabancı Sakıp Sabancı (7 April 1933 – 10 April 2004) was a Turkish business tycoon and philanthropist. Biography He was the second son of a cotton trader and worked in his father's business without completing high school. He was the head of Turkey's ...

(1933–2004), Turkish industrialist in former CEO of

and founder of

Güler Sabancı Güler Sabancı (born 1955) is a Turkish businesswoman, a third-generation member of the Sabancı family. Güler Sabancı continue her roles as Chair of the Sabancı Foundation Board of Trustees, Founding Chair of the Sabancı University Board of ...

(1955–...), Turkish businesswoman and CEO of

* Halit Cıngıllıoğlu (1954–), Turkish banker, industrialist and

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

collector *

Alparslan Türkeş Alparslan Türkeş (; 25 November 1917 – 4 April 1997) was a Turkish politician, who was the founder and president of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Grey Wolves ''(Ülkü Ocakları)''. He ran the Grey Wolves training camps from ...

(1917–1997), Turkish soldier and politician in founder of

Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party, or alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party (, MHP), is a Turkish Far-right politics, far-right, ultranationalism, ultranationalist Political parties in Turkey, political party. The group is often de ...

in ideology

Idealism Idealism in philosophy, also known as philosophical realism or metaphysical idealism, is the set of metaphysics, metaphysical perspectives asserting that, most fundamentally, reality is equivalent to mind, Spirit (vital essence), spirit, or ...

Mehmet Topuz Mehmet Topuz (born 7 September 1983) is a Turkish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder or right-back for Kayserispor and Fenerbahçe. Club career Topuz had begun his career in Yolspor, a local club located in Kayseri. He jo ...

, Turkish footballer *

(1909–2003),

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

film director, producer and co-founder of

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen in New York City. The studio is best known for its work refining and teaching method actin ...

Tuğrul Türkeş Yıldırım Tuğrul Türkeş (born 1 December 1954) is a Turkish people, Turkish economist and politician, who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey from 28 August 2015 to 19 July 2017. He first joined the 2015 interim election government of T ...

(1954–...), Turkish economist, academic and politician in founder of

Bright Turkey Party Bright Turkey Party (, ATP) was a right-wing populist party founded on 27 November 1998 by Tuğrul Türkeş. The party did not take part in the general elections of 1999. The party polled 0.29% of the vote in the 2007 Turkish general election ...

Hüsamettin Özkan Hasan Hüsamettin Özkan (born 1950) is a former Turkish politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey between 1999 and 2002 in the 56th and 57th governments led by Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit. He was a Member of Parliament ...

(1950–...), Turkish politician, former

Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey The deputy prime minister of Turkey was official deputy of the prime minister of Turkey. Conventionally all of the junior partners in a coalition got one deputy, and they were ranked according to the size of their respective parties. See also ...

Hayrünnisa Gül Hayrünnisa Gül (; née Özyurt, born 18 August 1965) served as the first lady of Turkey from 2007 to 2014, as the wife of Abdullah Gül. First Lady of Turkey On 7 October 2010, Gül became the first First Lady to address the Parliamentary ...

(1965–...), 11th First Lady of Turkey *

Abdullah Gül Abdullah Gül (; ; born 29 October 1950) is a Turkish politician who served as the 11th president of Turkey from 2007 to 2014. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister of Turkey, Prime Minister from 2002 to 2003, and concurrently s ...

(1950–...), 11th

President of Turkey The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye (), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the national government and is the commander-in-chief of the ...

Kayseri metropolitan municipality mayors

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

–

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

Hüsamettin Çetinbulut ( ANAP) *

–

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

Niyazi Bahçecioğlu ( SHP) *

–

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Şükrü Karatepe (

Welfare Party The Welfare Party (, RP) was an Islamist political party in Turkey. It was founded by Ali Türkmen, Ahmet Tekdal, and Necmettin Erbakan in Ankara in 1983 as heir to two earlier parties, National Order Party (MNP) and National Salvation Party ...

Virtue Party Virtue Party (, FP) was an Islamist political party established on 17 December 1997 in Turkey. It was found unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court and then banned on 22 June 2001 for violating the secularist articles of the Constitution. A ...

) *

–

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Mehmet Özhaseki Mehmet Özhaseki (born 25 May 1957) is a Turkish politician of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and former Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change. He is a former Mayor of Kayseri. Early life and education Mehmet � ...

(

) *

– Memduh Büyükkılıç (

)

Twin towns

Kayseri is twinned with: *

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its c ...

, Germany *

Maroua Maroua (Fula: Marwa, , 𞤥𞤢𞤪𞤱𞤢) is the capital of the Far North Region (Cameroon), Far North Region of Cameroon, stretching along the banks of the Ferngo River, Ferngo and Kaliao Rivers, in the foothills of the Mandara Mountains. T ...

, Cameroon *

Miskolc Miskolc ( , ; ; Czech language, Czech and ; ; ; ) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 as of 1 January 2014, Miskolc is the List of cities and towns in Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, ...

, Hungary *

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

, Syria *

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina *

Nalchik Nalchik (, ; ; ) is the capital city of Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia, situated at an altitude of in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains; about northwest of Beslan (Beslan is in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania). It covers an area of ...

, Russia *

Pavlodar Pavlodar (; ; ) is a city in northeastern Kazakhstan and the capital of Pavlodar Region. It is located northeast of the national capital Astana and southeast of the Russian city of Omsk along the Irtysh River. In 2010, the city had a popul ...

, Kazakhstan *

Saarbrücken (district) The Regionalverband Saarbrücken is a ''Kommunalverband besonderer Art'', an integration of a district (''Kreis'') and a district-free town. It is located in the south of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are Saarlouis, Neunkirchen, S ...

, Germany *

Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

, Azerbaijan *

Yongin Yongin (; ) is a city in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, the largest in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. With a population over 1 million, the city has developed rapidly since the 21st century, recording the highest population growth of any city in th ...

, South Korea

References

External links

Kayseri Governorship (Official Website)

Kayseri and Its Key Sights in Images
{{Authority control Archaeological sites in Central Anatolia Cappadocia Cities in Turkey Roman sites in Turkey Former Armenian communities in Turkey Former Greek communities in Turkey