Kayseri

The gateway city to Cappadocia, packed with Seljuk-era mosques and medical schools; Mount Erciyes, a volcano south of town, is one of Turkey's most popular ski resorts.

Kayseri lies in Central Anatolia and is the capital of Kayseri Province. It's about 70 km east of Göreme in Cappadocia, and Kayseri Erkilet Airport is often used as the gateway to Cappadocia. Known in antiquity as Caesarea, it was a major capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum. In the old town, the citadel, the Hunat Hatun Complex, the Gevher Nesibe Medical School, the Great Mosque and several conical-roofed tombs cluster around Republic Square, and you can see them all on foot in half a day. The covered bazaar, pastırma (cured beef) and mantı (tiny dumplings) are the signatures of this merchant city. About 25 km south of the city, Mount Erciyes (3,917 m) has one of Turkey's most modern ski resorts; in the Dec–Mar ski season you can ski the volcano's slopes with views over the Cappadocian plain. Day trips include the Assyrian merchant city of Kültepe, the Seljuk caravanserais of Sultanhanı and Karatay Han, Ağırnas, hometown of the architect Mimar Sinan, birdwatching at the Sultan Sazlığı wetlands, and Kapuzbaşı Waterfalls about 110 km to the south. Getting there: flights from Istanbul to Kayseri take about 1.5 hours; a tram line runs through the city, and the ski resort is about 40 minutes away by municipal bus or taxi. Allow 1 day for the city and 2–4 days for skiing. Winters are cold and dry; summer days are hot, with cool mornings and evenings.

Top sights

• Erciyes Ski Resort – A large ski resort on the 3,917-metre extinct volcano Erciyes, with more than 100 kilometres of runs. Skiers can look out over the Cappadoc…
• Kayseri Castle – A black basalt castle in the city centre, originally built in the Roman and Byzantine periods and now housing the Kayseri Archaeological Mu…
• Hunat Hatun Complex – A mosque complex completed in 1238 by a Seljuk queen, comprising a mosque, madrasa, bathhouse and mausoleum, and one of the earliest women-…
• Gevher Nesibe Museum of Medical History – A twin madrasa completed in 1206, one of the world's earliest medical schools and hospitals, now the Seljuk Civilization Museum.
• Kayseri Grand Bazaar – A vaulted covered market built in 1859. Together with the nearby Bedesten and Vezir Han, it forms the old commercial district for buying pa…
• Great Mosque of Kayseri – A multi-columned great mosque begun by the Danishmend dynasty in the 12th century, and one of the oldest mosques in Kayseri.
• Döner Kümbet – A twelve-sided stone tomb with a conical roof, built around 1276 for a Seljuk princess. Its outer walls are carved with the tree of life, g…
• Sahabiye Medrese – Built in 1267 by a Seljuk vizier, this madrasa is known for its finely carved portal, and its courtyard now houses bookshops and tea garden…
• Kurşunlu Mosque – A 16th-century 'Leaden Mosque' with a lead-covered dome, traditionally attributed to Mimar Sinan, the great Ottoman architect born in Kayse…
• Güpgüpoğlu Mansion Ethnography Museum – A stone mansion from the 15th to 18th centuries, recreating an Ottoman merchant's household and traditional costumes.
• Tomb of Seyyid Burhaneddin – The tomb of Seyyid Burhaneddin, mentor of the Sufi poet Rumi and a Sufi shrine often visited by Turkish pilgrims.
• Kadir Has City Museum – A city museum named after Kayseri-born entrepreneur Kadir Has, using period-style displays to present the city's trade, crafts and urban hi…
• Talas Old Town & Ali Dağı – A hillside town southeast of Kayseri with old stone houses and Greek and Armenian churches, with Mount Ali behind it offering city views an…
• Kültepe (Kanesh) – The Bronze Age Assyrian merchant colony of Kanesh, where more than 20,000 cuneiform clay tablets were unearthed; the site is on UNESCO's Wo…
• Sultan Han Caravanserai (Tuzhisar) – A Silk Road caravanserai built in 1232–1236 by Seljuk Sultan Kaykhusrau I, with an intact carved portal and a courtyard holding a pavilion-…
• Karatay Han – A 13th-century caravanserai built by Seljuk vizier Karatay, notable for rare animal and human-face reliefs on its portal.
• Ağırnas (Mimar Sinan's Birthplace) – Birthplace of the great Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, a village of stone houses built into the hillside, with an underground city and Sina…
• Sultan Marshes National Park – A highland wetland at the southern foot of Mount Erciyes, home to more than 300 bird species, with flamingos and pelicans as the highlights…
• Kapuzbaşı Waterfalls – A cluster of waterfalls bursting from a cliff at the foot of the Aladağ Mountains, billed as the world's second-highest rock-wall spring wa…

Where to eat

• Elmacıoğlu İskender – A long-established Kayseri kebab house founded in 1959. Its signature İskender kebab is served alongside local dishes s…
• Bağdat Pöç Tandır – A celebrated Kayseri pöç specialist, where tail meat slow-cooks in a stone oven for more than ten hours and arrives on…
• Sultan Sofrası – An esnaf lokantası (tradesmen's restaurant) that opened in 2001 and stays open late. Its home-style stews, mantı and ya…
• Gubate Restaurant – A Circassian-style eatery in Talas district serving Kayseri manti, tray-baked manti and potato-filled Circassian dumpli…

Itineraries

• In-Depth Cappadocia: Red, Green and South Routes – Stay in Ürgüp with one day each on the Red, Green and South routes, and finish in the Seljuk old town of Kayseri.
• Cappadocia & Erciyes Winter Ski – Explore the historic city of Kayseri, ski on Mount Erciyes, and stay in a Cappadocia cave hotel to see the fairy chimne…
• Cappadocia, Kayseri and Konya in – Enter through Kayseri, stay five nights in Göreme to explore every route, then travel via the Sultanhani caravanserai t…