I am not sure if it is appropriate to call Kayseri a metropole. Why? Because in spite of Kayseri's 900,000 strong population and its undisputed status as one of the most important industrial cities in Central Anatolia, the whole place still feels and behaves like a provincial town at best. This deep-seated feeling of provincialism is evident as soon as you get off the bus or the tram in downtown Kayseri. There are no trendy cafes and bars, no designer shops, no art galleries, no international restaurants, no elegant boutique hotels, but plenty of uninspiring grey concrete apartment blocks and dusty-looking shop houses. To be brutally honest, this city does not appear attractive at the very first sight.
It is hardly surprising there is a lack of cosmopolitan trendy buildings in Kayseri, as the city is very well-known in Turkey for its social and religious conservatism. In other words, it is the place to visit if you are into mosques and other Muslim religious sites. Just hold your breathe and don't expect to come across any avant-garde or revolutionary architectures while you are there.
It is hardly surprising there is a lack of cosmopolitan trendy buildings in Kayseri, as the city is very well-known in Turkey for its social and religious conservatism. In other words, it is the place to visit if you are into mosques and other Muslim religious sites. Just hold your breathe and don't expect to come across any avant-garde or revolutionary architectures while you are there.
