Kayseri

From the beginning of its existence, Kayseri was located at the crossroads of the most important trade routes of Asia Minor. The city was founded as Mazaka, ok. 2 km south of today's center of Kayseri. It is not known exactly, When was it, but certainly Mazaka already existed approx. 6th century. p.n.e., when she belonged to Persian satrapy (province, great county in ancient Persia) Capatukya ("Land of beautiful horses"). In Hellenistic times a settlement, known as Euzebia, was the capital of the kingdom of Cappadocia.

The reign of the Armenian king Tigranes, who attacked and plundered the city of 77 r. p.n.e., it took little over 12 lat, because he was expelled by the Romans who came to these lands. From then on, the city was called Caesarea, and it was ruled, with the consent of the Romans, by the local dynasty. Under the emperor Tiberius, w 17 r. n.e., the city became the capital of the province of Caesarea, and later Cappadocia. From then on, it flourished (huge walls were built around it), becoming an important center of Christianity over time. From approx. 4th c. a bishop resided here, anyway up to 1922 r. Caesarea was the birthplace of many important Christian theologians, led by St.. Basil the Great, who came into the world in 329 r. St. Basil was one of the three so-called. Cappadocia Fathers (apart from him, they were his brother Grzegorz from Nyssa and Grzegorz from Nazjanz), Bishop of Caesarea and Metropolitan of Cappadocia. He is one of the leading Christian theologians and philosophers, it was he who finally formulated the dogma of the Holy Trinity, he also significantly reformed the Church. During the Roman and Byzantine times, there were approx. 400 thousand. people, which made it an important center both for trade, as well as cultural and scientific.

During the reign of Justinian the Great, the city was expanded even more, new walls were built, many churches, hippodrome and great baths. The Arabs first circumvented Caesarea in the early 7th century., they managed to get it and transport thousands of inhabitants from here, later slaves. The Arabs raided the city a few more times, until they finally settled here in the 8th century. W 2. half. X w. the Byzantine emperor Nicahorus II Phocas recaptured the city, but after 1071 r. it went to the Seljuks, or rather it was destroyed by them. For that year a great battle took place at Manzikert, in which they dealt a terrible defeat to the Byzantines. Knights 1 crusades found here in 1097 r. only ruins. During the heyday of the Seljuk Sultanate, Rum also flourished again Caesarea (pour. Kaisaraia, hence the Turkish name Kayseri), becoming the most important Seljuk town next to the capital of the Sultanate of Konya. Many wonderful buildings were built at that time, which can be admired to this day. After the Seljuk fall, Kayseri changed hands, until finally the Ottomans in 1515 r., during the reign of Selim I.. It then lost its importance, a od XX w. developed as the industrial center of the region, which remains to this day.

Drive, orientation, connections

Because Kayseri is an important city in the region and lies almost in the middle of Anatolia, we get here from the most important cities of all Turkey – both from the west (Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya), noon (Adana), east (Malatya, Van, Erzurum), and midnight (Sivas, Trabzon). We'll get here from Góreme 3,5 USD w 1,5 time.

The bus station is approx. 1,5 km west of the city center. If we do not reach the center as part of the service (transportation provided by the shipping company), then we can get there by dolmus or city bus going along Osman Kavuncu Cad. or also on foot. The train station is located 700 m to the northwest of the center. We can get to the city from here along Ataturk Bulv. or by bus or dolmusz, and the walk will only take us 15 min.