Sivas Things to Do

It was built in 1347 as a burial site Seyh Hasan Bey of Ertana, whose remains lie in the black marble sarcophagus. The short brick cylinder structure rests on a square base and because it resembles a minaret, it is popularly called Guduk Minare or Short Minaret.

Surp Nishan (meaning "Holy Sign" or "Holy Cross") monastery was established by Atom-Ashot, the son of King Senekerim. The monastery was named after a celebrated relic that Senekerim had brought from Varagavank, and which was returned there after his death.

In 1915 Surp Nishan monastery was the main repository of medieval Armenian manuscripts in the Sebastia region and at least 283 manuscripts are recorded. The library was not destroyed during World War I and most of the manuscripts survived. In 1918 about 100 of them were transferred to the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem.

The monastery today is unfortunately entirely destroyed and a sprawling military base occupies the site. The date of the destruction is uncertain.

The monastery stood on a low hill overlooking Sivas and was surrounded by a plain and undefended outer wall. On one side of that enclosure wall, encircled by a wall of mud brick, was a large garden containing fruit trees and vegetable plots. Several farms were also attached to the monastery.

The monastery had three churches – their names were Surp Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God), Surp Khatch (Holy Cross), and Surp Hovhannes Karapet (Saint John the Precursor).

Sivas Meydan Hamami (Turkish Bath) is one of the top 10 in Turkey. It was built in 1564 during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Murat III. It still functions today. Modern features are added as well in the past years: Now there is a reading room and a seperate resting room for men and women. It is open from 5am till midnight everyday.

Something you should really try at least once in a life time!

This is the Ottoman school building that hosted the Sivas Congress on September 4, 1919. Today, it's a museum.

On the ground floor, you can see a variety of carpets and kilims. The wooden doors of the school are from Ulu Cami complex in Divrigi.

When you go upstairs, you can see the Congress Hall. It is presented as the way it was during the original congress meeting. You can see the photos of the delegates on the desks. Upstairs you can also see Atatürk's bedroom. Unfortunately most of the displays are only in Turkish.

lt was built in 1271 by the Seljuk Vezier Sahip Ata Fahreddin Ali. The entrance gate has very interesting brick works. The two minarets have blue tile work and that's where the name of the building comes from: Gök Medrese means Sky-blue Seminary. When we visited, we loved the tiles in the south and north chambers.

The gates to inside are generally locked but the custodiana are generally kind enough to open them for you when you ask. When you enter, on your right, there is a beautiful prayer room with a very nice dome.

Ulu Cami (A.K.A. Great Mosque) was built in 1197 by Kilicarslan Bin Ibrahim. The mosque was built in a rectanguler shape with a big covered courtyard. Facing the south worship area, there are 50 columns arranged in 11 paralel rows. The cylinder shaped birck minaret was built in the 13'th century and has 116 steps to the top.

The name literally means the seminary of the twin minarets. It was built in 1271 by the Mongol-Ilhani Vezier Semseddin Mehmed Cuveyni as a school for the study of the traditions of the words and sayings of the prophet. Today only a section of the east wall remains standing. It was composed of a front facade, two minarets in the middle, an entrance gate, two windows on each (side and towers in each) corner.

Most probably you will be driving to Sivas or coming to Sivas by bus and Hükümet Meydani is the very first place you will see as it's only 2 km away from the central bus station. This is the place where the local governor sits. It's also the very center of the city: All main sights, hotels and restaurant are within walking distance from Hükümet Meydani.