Kayseri Castle

Usually, you have to go to the vicinity of modern cities or climb cliffs to see the ancient city walls, old castles and other defensive constructions which were built long ago. This is the rule for many European and some Asian countries. However, that rule cannot be applied to the Turkish city of Kayseri. The ancient stone castle is located in the city center and is its main attraction.

During its history which started in the third millennia BC, residents of those lands were often attacked by the neighboring states. The territory of the modern Kayseri was always a desirable place for the famous rulers and used to be a part of great empires. The rulers tried to own that city and made changes in its citadel strengthening. Thanks to the efforts of ancient and the Middle Ages conquerors, the great castle of Gordian II was very well-preserved and can be visited today.

The history of the ancient castle, which was made out of volcanic rocks, started in the middle of the 3rd century AD. It is evidenced by the images on the coins of that time. Three centuries later, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I made slight changes in its construction. As for the modern appearance of the castle, it was the matter of its another owner, the Seljuq Sultan Alā ad-Dīn Kayqubād. He ruled there in the 13th century.

A huge irregularly shaped stone wall has the interior and exterior parts. 18 big towers have spacious viewing platforms. For many centuries the castle fulfilled the defensive needs and protected the city, but in 1950 it became a city market. However, recently the local authorities paid attention to this ancient architectural monument. They decided to start the reconstruction works which turned the castle into a modern art space.