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.
As most foreign visitors to Kayseri are business traveller, most hotels in Kayseri do not cater to casual holidaymakers and are fairly expensive as a result, even by European standards. There are quite a few decent business hotels in the immediate vicinity of Kayseri's big covered bazaar, including a Hilton right across the road from Kayseri's landmark clock tower.
The old part of Kayseri is actually quite compact and is easily accessible by foot. Among the most important sights which are of some interest to the tourists are the city's big covered bazaar, which sells everything from ordinary household items such as shoes, textiles, cooking utensils etc. to fresh local produces including the famous Kayseri Pastirma, a kind of smoked cured beef popular with Turks. The bazaar consists of several inter-connected covered buildings, whose interiors and corridors are full of shops and stalls big and small. There is one whole section dedicated to the sale of the city's famous smoked cured beef ham.
Next to the covered bazaar is the entrance to Kayseri's impressive ancient city wall that encircled parts of downtown Kayseri. The walls dated from the Byzantine era and underwent extensive restoration during the Seljuk and the Ottoman rules. Nowadays inside the wall are numerous traditional silversmith workshops, family-run jewellery shops and a few small cafes serving local drinks and snacks.
In spite of its age, the city walls are in very good conditions. Within walking distance of the wall one could find most of Kayseri's tourist attractions, such as the Clock Tower, several historical mosques built during the Seljuk period, traditional Ottoman houses, the municipal parks, the religious tombs, and plenty of shops and restaurants. Public buses connect the city's main inter-city bus station with downtown Kayseri, in addition to the free shuttle services offered by the main bus companies.
For those who are interested in archaeology and ancient history, Kayseri is very close to the archaeological site of Kültepe (the ancient Hattic/Hittite city of Kanesh), where large numbers of cuneiform tablets and baked clay tablets inscripted with Old Assyrian and some Hittite loan words were found during excavations in the early 20th century. Once an important Hittite trading city with a large Assyrian merchant colony, the valuable archaeological finds excavated from Kültepe are the oldest records available of the existence in Anatolia of an Indo-European language (the Hattic language). In order to commemorate the cultural significance of this site, a huge replica of a Hattic/Hittite baked clay tablet is erected at one of Kayseri's busiest traffic junctions near the remains of the city wall.
The paradox about Kayseri is, although this city has a long history and quite a few historical buildings to boot, the whole place actually feels a bit devoid of character and is far too modern to my taste. Given its numerous medieval mosques and its strong social conservatism, it is a suprise that the city is very much lacking in serene spirituality. It is very busy and industrial, with lots of commercial activities going on. Yet unlike other ancient Anatolian cities in Turkey such as Mardin, Urfa or Konya, Kayseri's city centre does not radiate a very strong sense of historical charm. Neither is the city centre of Kayseri really attractive when compared to its nearest rivals, Konya and Sivas. Judging from the perspective of a casual foreign tourist, both Konya and Sivas offer much better value for money (and time) than Kayseri, given the arrays of impressive Islamic architectures in the former duo's city centres.
Of course, one big plus of Kayseri is its strategic location at the heart of the Anatolian plateau. In recent years, more and more airlines have begun to operate flights in and out of Kayseri's airport, linking the city with other major cities in the eastern, western and southeastern parts of Turkey. There are even seasonal international flights to selected destinations in Europe. With efficient rail, bus and air links to all parts of Turkey, Kayseri is fast becoming one of the most important transportation hubs in central Anatolia, acting as a bridge between the west and the east of this vast country.
Although most foreign tourists to Cappdocia know of Kayseri and have probably used either its airport or the city's inter-city bus station en route to Cappdocia, most of them have virtually no knowledge of this city and have little interest in visiting it. The good thing of being overlooked by commercial overseas tourism is, Kayseri has managed to retained its sense of normality being a prosperous Anatolian Turkish city, instead of becoming a sort of Disneylandsque feeder town dependent on incomes from tourism only.
For those who are interested in seeing something else apart from Cappdocia, Kayseri conveniently serves as a base for excursions to the now extinct volcano, Mount Erciyes, a place popular with Turkish winter sports fans. Although the reputation of Mount Erciyes as a premier winter sports ground is still relatively unknown to foreign visitors, especially when compared to the much more famous skiing runs in the mountains near Bursa in the west or Erzurum in eastern Turkey, it is slowly gaining ground in terms of publicity overseas. The views of snow-capped Mount Erciye are clearly visible on clear days from most places in downtown Kayseri, and it is less than an hour's ride from the city to the foothills of the mountain ranges.
A word of advice: Kayseri is a conservative place and is 100% not for those who love to parade around in skimpy outfits and mini-skirts or shorts.
Copyrights@2011. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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.
As most foreign visitors to Kayseri are business traveller, most hotels in Kayseri do not cater to casual holidaymakers and are fairly expensive as a result, even by European standards. There are quite a few decent business hotels in the immediate vicinity of Kayseri's big covered bazaar, including a Hilton right across the road from Kayseri's landmark clock tower.
The old part of Kayseri is actually quite compact and is easily accessible by foot. Among the most important sights which are of some interest to the tourists are the city's big covered bazaar, which sells everything from ordinary household items such as shoes, textiles, cooking utensils etc. to fresh local produces including the famous Kayseri Pastirma, a kind of smoked cured beef popular with Turks. The bazaar consists of several inter-connected covered buildings, whose interiors and corridors are full of shops and stalls big and small. There is one whole section dedicated to the sale of the city's famous smoked cured beef ham.
Next to the covered bazaar is the entrance to Kayseri's impressive ancient city wall that encircled parts of downtown Kayseri. The walls dated from the Byzantine era and underwent extensive restoration during the Seljuk and the Ottoman rules. Nowadays inside the wall are numerous traditional silversmith workshops, family-run jewellery shops and a few small cafes serving local drinks and snacks.
In spite of its age, the city walls are in very good conditions. Within walking distance of the wall one could find most of Kayseri's tourist attractions, such as the Clock Tower, several historical mosques built during the Seljuk period, traditional Ottoman houses, the municipal parks, the religious tombs, and plenty of shops and restaurants. Public buses connect the city's main inter-city bus station with downtown Kayseri, in addition to the free shuttle services offered by the main bus companies.
For those who are interested in archaeology and ancient history, Kayseri is very close to the archaeological site of Kültepe (the ancient Hattic/Hittite city of Kanesh), where large numbers of cuneiform tablets and baked clay tablets inscripted with Old Assyrian and some Hittite loan words were found during excavations in the early 20th century. Once an important Hittite trading city with a large Assyrian merchant colony, the valuable archaeological finds excavated from Kültepe are the oldest records available of the existence in Anatolia of an Indo-European language (the Hattic language). In order to commemorate the cultural significance of this site, a huge replica of a Hattic/Hittite baked clay tablet is erected at one of Kayseri's busiest traffic junctions near the remains of the city wall.
The paradox about Kayseri is, although this city has a long history and quite a few historical buildings to boot, the whole place actually feels a bit devoid of character and is far too modern to my taste. Given its numerous medieval mosques and its strong social conservatism, it is a suprise that the city is very much lacking in serene spirituality. It is very busy and industrial, with lots of commercial activities going on. Yet unlike other ancient Anatolian cities in Turkey such as Mardin, Urfa or Konya, Kayseri's city centre does not radiate a very strong sense of historical charm. Neither is the city centre of Kayseri really attractive when compared to its nearest rivals, Konya and Sivas. Judging from the perspective of a casual foreign tourist, both Konya and Sivas offer much better value for money (and time) than Kayseri, given the arrays of impressive Islamic architectures in the former duo's city centres.
Of course, one big plus of Kayseri is its strategic location at the heart of the Anatolian plateau. In recent years, more and more airlines have begun to operate flights in and out of Kayseri's airport, linking the city with other major cities in the eastern, western and southeastern parts of Turkey. There are even seasonal international flights to selected destinations in Europe. With efficient rail, bus and air links to all parts of Turkey, Kayseri is fast becoming one of the most important transportation hubs in central Anatolia, acting as a bridge between the west and the east of this vast country.
Although most foreign tourists to Cappdocia know of Kayseri and have probably used either its airport or the city's inter-city bus station en route to Cappdocia, most of them have virtually no knowledge of this city and have little interest in visiting it. The good thing of being overlooked by commercial overseas tourism is, Kayseri has managed to retained its sense of normality being a prosperous Anatolian Turkish city, instead of becoming a sort of Disneylandsque feeder town dependent on incomes from tourism only.
For those who are interested in seeing something else apart from Cappdocia, Kayseri conveniently serves as a base for excursions to the now extinct volcano, Mount Erciyes, a place popular with Turkish winter sports fans. Although the reputation of Mount Erciyes as a premier winter sports ground is still relatively unknown to foreign visitors, especially when compared to the much more famous skiing runs in the mountains near Bursa in the west or Erzurum in eastern Turkey, it is slowly gaining ground in terms of publicity overseas. The views of snow-capped Mount Erciye are clearly visible on clear days from most places in downtown Kayseri, and it is less than an hour's ride from the city to the foothills of the mountain ranges.
A word of advice: Kayseri is a conservative place and is 100% not for those who love to parade around in skimpy outfits and mini-skirts or shorts.
Copyrights@2011. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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