Kayseri Travel Guide
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316km (196 miles) to Ankara; 770km (478 miles) to Istanbul; 102km (63 miles) to Nevsehir
Today little more than a religiously conservative and industrialized town, Kayseri's biggest draw is its rich legacy of Selçuk monuments. During the reign of Alaaddin Keykubat, the Selçuk Empire briefly became the world's most powerful and culturally advanced state while showing a singular tolerance to the Anatolian people. Through a cooperation, even a merging, with the Anatolian people, the Selçuks developed a unique form of art, architecture, and culture.
Kayseri has contributed other great things to the cultural mosaic of Anatolia. As an important stop on the Silk Road and even today recognized for its textiles, Kayseri is still one of the leading producers of carpets and kilims in Turkey. Finely woven silk carpets have earned Kayseri a reputation second only to Hereke, and the colors and patterns of the local wool and cotton carpets rival the beauty and quality of Anatolia's oldest weaving traditions. However, the town's current, most celebrated exports are manti, tiny meat-filled ravioli topped in a garlicky yogurt sauce, and pastirma, a spicy cured beef flavored with red pepper, lots of garlic, and fenugreek seed. (No trip to town would be complete without one or the other.)
Few visitors venture into Kayseri's city center, motivated instead to reach their final destination, Cappadocia, after a late evening flight. Having endured the indignity of tourism's equivalent of the cold shoulder, local shopkeepers have responded by targeting the more intrepid with insistent, relentless, and bothersome sales tactics. And, sadly, it's this persistence that has made Kayseri infamous throughout Turkey. To appreciate the town, you have to have both an enthusiasm for Selçuk architecture and a thick skin. As religious zeal pervades the air, it might be a good idea to dress modestly as well. Plan to spend half a day seeing the sights and another couple of hours extricating yourself from the clutches of the local "tag men."
