Things to do in Kayseri

Kayseri is the way into Cappadocia rather than a destination in itself, and the catalogue here says so plainly. The airport is the largest of the two that serve the valleys. Göreme is about eighty kilometres away.

Why people land here

Flights are more frequent and usually cheaper than into Nevşehir. That is the whole argument. It holds for most of the year.

• The drive. An hour and a quarter to Göreme, longer to Ürgüp or Avanos by a few minutes.
• Hire car or transfer. What is sold here is the car. Shared shuttles wait for a full load; a hired car does not.
• Erciyes. The volcano south of the city reaches 3,916 metres and carries the ski resort from December to April.

If you stop

The city is old and unshowy. A Seljuk citadel in black volcanic stone stands over a covered bazaar, and Kültepe, the Assyrian trading colony, lies twenty kilometres northeast. What Kayseri is known for at home is the food: pastırma, and the small hand-folded mantı.

Practical

• Season. The valleys read best in spring and autumn. Winter here is genuinely cold and the ski season is the point of it.
• Altitude. The city sits above a thousand metres, so nights are cold even after hot days.
• Two airports. Kayseri and Nevşehir both serve Cappadocia. Nevşehir is closer; Kayseri has the flights.
• Balloons are booked from the valley, not from here, and they are cancelled by wind rather than by season.
• Driving. The road is good and the valleys are signposted. Parking in Göreme is the hard part.
• Sultanhanı. The largest Seljuk caravanserai stands on the Konya road, about a hundred kilometres west. It suits a stop, not a trip.