Kayseri Castle and Walls

Kayseri Castle consists of two separate building groups, the inner and outer castle. The outer walls of the castle were built by the Roman Emperor Gordianus III in 242 AD, while the inner castle was built by the Byzantine Emperor Justiniaus at the beginning of the 6th century AD during the narrowing of the outer walls. It acquired its present appearance largely during the Anatolian Seljuk ruler Alaeddin Keykubad I, when the castle was reinforced against Mongol attacks. In 2008, it was decided to turn the castle into a cultural and artistic center with the change of function works initiated in the castle. Within the scope of the works, it was planned to move the Archaeology Museum to the castle. In 2019, after the completion of the works, the museum and the castle were opened to visitors.

OUTER CASTLE

The castle and its walls cover a large area within the city of Kayseri. The first information about the walls of Kayseri is found in the coins of the Roman Emperor Gordianus III (238-244 AD). From this information, it is understood that the walls were built on this date. The second information belongs to the first half of the VI century. The Byzantine historian Procopius states that the wall built at the foundation of Kayseri surrounded distant hills, gardens and pastures and that the houses of the city could not fill it, and that the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (527-565 AD) had the walls built narrower than before in order to protect the city, that is, he narrowed the main wall.

According to these two documents and records, the walls of Kayseri were first built in the middle of the III century, and were narrowed and repaired in the middle of the VI century. However, it is doubtful which parts of the walls that remain today belong to the Roman and which to the Byzantine period. In general, researchers believe that the walls may belong to the Byzantine period.

The historical castle of Kayseri consists of two parts, one of which is the outer castle with its wide protection frame formed by the outer city and bastions, and the other is the inner castle, which is an enormous structure and still preserves this feature today.

A few important parts of the outer fortress or city walls are still standing today. Most of the walls have been destroyed and removed. The outer castle, which was completely destroyed except for the Yoğunburç and small remains in a few prominent places, was built with body walls kept high with vaults and arches for defense purposes.

INNER CASTLE

The inner castle is an independent structure within the city walls. It was repaired by the Seljuks, Karamanids, Dulkadiroğulları and Ottomans and has survived until today. There are 18 bastions with rectangular plans on the side walls and corners of the inner castle. Today the structure is in a solid condition. The inner castle is 800 meters long from north to south and 200 meters long from east to west. The castle has 18 bastions and the bastions lean against 3 meter wide walls. A patrol road passes under these bastions.

The castle has two gates, one on the northeast and one on the southwest
facing the Kazancılar bazaar. In front of both gates, there is a battlement to
prevent the first attack. The water ditch, which was dug around the outer
perimeter of the castle for safety, has been filled in recent years to make
a green area. Inside and to the northwest of the castle, there is an elegant
mosque built adjacent to the city wall. This mosque was built by Mehmet
the Conqueror in 1467 A.D. under the supervision of Gedik Ahmet Pasha
during the transition of the city from Karamanid to Ottoman rule.
Osmanlı idaresine geçmesi sırasında, Fatih Sultan Mehmet tarafından, M.S.
1467 yılında, Gedik Ahmet Paşa’nın nezaretinde yaptırılmıştır.