Kayseri

Kayseri is one of Turkey’s great modern success stories. Home to a vibrant and ever-expanding manufacturing industry and reaping the economic benefits that flow from this, it’s a city that clearly knows its own worth. The locals here are as confident of their city’s future as they are proud of its past, which is a rare thing indeed. It’s also a city that has no need to rely on the vagaries of international tourism for its economic prosperity. This can be liberating – and just a wee bit frustrating – for the visitor, as the touts, tour operators and tourist infrastructure taken for granted elsewhere in Cappadocia are thin on the ground here.

Most people fly into Kayseri and are transferred by shuttle bus to central Cappadocia, but there’s a lot to be said for spending a day exploring its sights and meeting its people.