Getting to Know Kayseri
Kayseri lies in the south-east of Central Anatolia at an altitude of about 1,050 metres, on the northern slopes of Mount Erciyes (3,916 m), the highest mountain in Central Anatolia. The city’s history goes back a very long way: Kültepe (Kaniş), 20 km to the north-east, was the centre of a trading colony (karum) founded by Assyrian merchants in the early 2nd millennium BC; the tens of thousands of cuneiform tablets found here are the earliest known written documents in Anatolia.
In antiquity it was Mazaka, capital of the Kingdom of Cappadocia, and in the Roman period it took the name Caesarea, from which the modern name Kayseri comes. In the 11th century it became an important city of the Danishmendids and then of the Anatolian Seljuks. The monuments left from the Seljuk period make Kayseri one of the cities with the richest Seljuk heritage in Anatolia: the Gevher Nesibe Hospital, built in 1206, is counted among the world’s first combinations of medical school and hospital; the Hunat Hatun Complex (1238), the Sahabiye Madrasa and the tombs are also from this era. Mimar Sinan, the greatest architect of the Ottomans, was born in the village of Ağırnas in Kayseri.
Today Kayseri is one of Türkiye’s important industrial and trading cities; its organised industrial zone stands out for furniture, textiles and metalworking. The city’s tradition of enterprising merchants, together with products such as pastırma and sucuk, is part of Kayseri’s identity.
When to Go
Kayseri has a continental climate: winters are cold and snowy, summers hot and dry. Averages for 1931–2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service:
| Month |
Avg. high |
Avg. low |
Rainfall |
Rainy days |
| January |
4.3 °C |
−6.7 °C |
36 mm |
13 |
| February |
6.3 °C |
−5.1 °C |
36 mm |
11 |
| March |
11.6 °C |
−1.3 °C |
44 mm |
13 |
| April |
17.8 °C |
3.3 °C |
51 mm |
13 |
| May |
22.6 °C |
6.9 °C |
52 mm |
13 |
| June |
27.0 °C |
9.9 °C |
41 mm |
9 |
| July |
30.8 °C |
12.1 °C |
10 mm |
2 |
| August |
30.9 °C |
11.7 °C |
9 mm |
2 |
| September |
26.7 °C |
7.6 °C |
15 mm |
4 |
| October |
20.5 °C |
3.6 °C |
27 mm |
7 |
| November |
13.2 °C |
−0.8 °C |
32 mm |
9 |
| December |
6.7 °C |
−4.2 °C |
37 mm |
12 |
May–June and September–October are ideal for a city visit, and December–March for skiing. The ski season at Erciyes generally runs from December to April. In summer the days are hot and the nights cool; the difference between night and day can reach 18–20 °C. Bird migration at Sultansazlığı is at its busiest in spring and autumn.
How to Get to Kayseri
By air: Kayseri Airport (ASR) is about 8 km north of the city centre; a new terminal building opened in 2025. There are frequent flights from Istanbul and Ankara, and it is one of the airports often used by visitors heading for Cappadocia.
By train: Kayseri is on the Ankara–Sivas and Kayseri–Adana railway lines; the Eastern Express (Doğu Ekspresi) passes through Kayseri.
By road: It is about 320 km from Ankara and about 75 km from Nevşehir/Ürgüp. Within the city there is an extensive tram network (Kayseray).
Kayseri Area by Area
- Melikgazi and Kocasinan (city centre): Kayseri Castle, the Hunat Hatun Complex, the Covered Bazaar and bedestens, the Gevher Nesibe Hospital (Seljuk Civilisation Museum), the Sahabiye Madrasa, the Döner Tomb, the Kurşunlu Mosque, the Güpgüpoğlu Mansion and the Kayseri Archaeology Museum.
- Kültepe: the Kaniş-Karum archaeological site, 20 km north-east of the city.
- Talas and Ağırnas: the stone mansions and Church of the Virgin Mary in Talas; Ağırnas, the village where Mimar Sinan was born, with its underground city.
- Hacılar and Erciyes: the Erciyes Ski Resort and Tekir Plateau.
- Develi, Yahyalı and Yeşilhisar: Sultansazlığı National Park, the Kapuzbaşı Waterfalls, Aladağlar National Park, and the rock churches and rag dolls of the Soğanlı Valley.
- Bünyan and Yahyalı: registered hand-woven carpets and weaving traditions.
Suggested Itineraries
Day 1 – Seljuk Kayseri: Kayseri Castle, the Hunat Hatun Complex and the Covered Bazaar; mantı for lunch. In the afternoon, the Seljuk Civilisation Museum in the Gevher Nesibe Hospital and the Döner Tomb; in the evening, shop for pastırma and sucuk.
Day 2 – Kültepe and Ağırnas: Kültepe archaeological site in the morning, then the mansions of Talas and Mimar Sinan’s house in Ağırnas.
Day 3 – Erciyes or the south: Skiing at Erciyes in winter; in summer, the Soğanlı Valley, Sultansazlığı and the Kapuzbaşı Waterfalls (a full day).
Kayseri Cuisine
The symbols of Kayseri cuisine are Kayseri pastırması, dried in a coating of çemen (fenugreek paste), and the spicy Kayseri sucuğu. The tiny Kayseri mantısı, of which 40 are expected to fit on a spoon, is also the pride of the city. Other delicacies with registered geographical indications are Kayseri yağlaması, Kayseri nevzinesi, Kayseri katmeri, Kayseri gül baklavası, Kayseri tandır böreği, Kayseri fırın ağzı kebabı, Kayseri pöç kebabı, Kayseri kavurması, Kayseri tepsi mantısı, purov mantısı and yağ mantısı, börek aşı and kurşun aşı çorbası, Kayseri çemeni and sucuk içi, Develi cıvıklısı and gaceri, Talas çörekotlu çömlek peyniri (Talas nigella-seed pot cheese), Talas Zincidere kuru kaymağı (Talas Zincidere dried clotted cream), Pınarbaşı Uzunyayla Çerkes peyniri (Pınarbaşı Uzunyayla Circassian cheese), Erkilet kedi bacağı (grapes), İncesu karaevrek üzümü (İncesu karaevrek grapes), Yamula patlıcanı (Yamula aubergine), Kayseri cırgalan biberi (Kayseri cırgalan pepper), Akkışla and Bünyan gilaburusu (Bünyan guelder rose), Tomarza kabak çekirdeği (Tomarza pumpkin seeds) and Özvatan çiçek balı (Özvatan flower honey).
Handicrafts
Bünyan hand-woven carpets and Yahyalı hand-woven carpets are important examples of Anatolian carpet-making; the Soğanlı rag dolls (Soğanlı bez bebekleri) made by the villagers of Soğanlı also have a registered geographical indication.
Practical Tips
- Have your pastırma sliced at the pastırma shops in the city centre; ask about the versions with and without çemen.
- The Erciyes Ski Resort is about 25 km from the city; municipal buses run in the season.
- Hiring a car is the most practical way to reach Soğanlı and Kapuzbaşı; Kapuzbaşı is about 145 km from Kayseri.
- Kayseri, as part of Cappadocia, can be combined with Ürgüp and Göreme in the same trip.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA) · Source 
