Sivas

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Sivas
Gök Medresesi
Gök Medresesi
Location in Turkey
Overview
Region Central Anatolia Region, Turkey
Province Sivas Province
Population 306,473 NA (2005)
Elevation 1285 m
Coordinates NA
Postal code 58x xx
Area code 0346
Licence plate code 58
Mayor Veysel Dalmaz
Website [1]

Sivas (Greek: Σεβάστεια, Armenian: Սեբաստիա) is the provincial capital of Sivas Province in Turkey. According to the 2005 Turkish census, its population was 306,473.

The city lies at an elevation of 4,183 feet (1,275 m) in the broad valley of the Kizil River, and is a moderately-sized trade center and industrial city, although the economy has traditionally been based on agriculture. Rail repair shops as well as a thriving industry of manufacturing rugs, bricks, cement, and cotton and woolen textiles are all important for the economy of the city. The surrounding region is a cereal-producing area and with large deposits of iron ore, which are worked at Divrigi.

Sivas is a also communications center to the north-south and west-east trade routes to Iraq and Iran, respectively. With the development of railways, the city gained new economic importance, as it stands at the junction of several railways and highways and is linked by air with Istanbul via Ankara, as well as an important rail line linking the cities of Kayseri, Samsun, and Erzurum.

Contents

[edit] Etymology

There are different opinions about the origin of the city's name but there is not a clear and accepted source for these claims. According to one view, the name Subasa which was firstly mentioned in the Hittite records for the eastern city, where the river Marashantiya (Halys) had its origin, is the source of the name Sivas. Another view argues that the name comes from a Western origin. According to this claim, after the conquest of Anatolia by the Roman Empire, Sivas appeared in records as Sebaste (the name derives from Greek Σεβαστή, a translation of Latin Augusta in honor of the emperor Augustus). Sivas which was conquered in 1463 by Ottoman Empire army had numerous names before that time. After under the control of Ottoman Empire Sivas became centre of state.

[edit] History

[edit] Ancient and medieval

The locality has been subjected to many arcological excavations and indicate settlements by many peoples throughout ancient times. Excavations at a mound known as Topraktepe indicate Hittite settlements in the locality, although little is known of Sivas' history prior to its emergence as the Roman city of Sebastea, which became the capital of Armenia Minor under the emperor Diocletian.

An ancient town of importance in the early history of the Christian Church, Sivas was the home of St. Blaise and St. Peter of Sebaste, who were bishops of the town, and of Eustathius, one of the early founders of monasticism in Asia Minor — all in the 4th century; the place of martyrdom of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, also 4th century; the birthplace (1676) of Mekhitar, the founder of the Mekhitarist Order. Several patriarchs were born in Sebaste, among them Atticus, 5th‑century Patriarch of Constantinople, and Michael, a 16th‑century Patriarch of Echmiadzin.

The city was once the headquarters of the Armenian church.

The Armenian king Sennacherib John of Vaspurakan (the southern Armenian kingdom, whose parts make up modern day province of Van, Turkey) ceded his land to Byzantine emperor Basil II in 1021 A.D. and immigrated to Sivas with many of his nobles and people and became vassal to Byzantines, until the city was conquered by the Turkmen Danishmend dynasty (1155–1192) after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071.

In 1174, the city was captured by Seljuk ruler Kilic Arslan II and periodically served as capital of the Seljuk empire along with Konya. Under Seljuk rule, Sivas was an important center of trade and site of a citadel, along with mosques and madrasahs ( religious educational institutions), four of which survive today and one of which houses the Sivas Museum.

The city fell to the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I (1389–1402) in 1398, was lost to Timur (Tamerlane; 1336–1405) in 1400, and was recaptured by the Ottomans in 1408. Under the Ottomans, Sivas served as the administrative center of the province of Rum until about the late nineteenth century.

[edit] Modern

The Sivas Congress, which laid the foundations of the modern Turkish Republic, was held in this city on 4 September 1919. Upon the return of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881–1938), the founder of the Turkish Republic, from Amasya, the Congress of Sivas, considered a turning point in the formation of the Turkish Republic, was held in September 1919. It was at this congress that Kemal's position as chair of the executive committee of the national resistance was confirmed. (see Turkish War of Independence)

On July 02, 1993, Thirty-seven Turkish intellectuals and locals participating in the Pir Sultan Abdal Cultral and Literary Festival were killed when their hotel in downtown Sivas, namely the Madimak Hotel, was burnt down by 2000 members of various anti-democratic, pro-shariah radical islamist groups protesting against Aziz Nesin, the Turkish translator of Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses. Individuals who have given their lives that fateful day include, high profile Turkish Sunni and Alevi artists and intellectuals such as Muhlis Akarsu, Metin Altiok, Behçet Aysan, Nesimi Cimen and Orhan Kaynar, as well as a Dutch anthropologist. Nesin managed to escape the burning building by the help of a fireman, and was carried away to safety from the fanatical mob. Protested by many Turkish and Kurdish singers e.g. Grup Yorum, Arif Sağ, Musa Eroğlu, Selda Bağcan, İlkay Akkaya and more, who sang Aşık Veysel's song "Sivas Ellerinde Sazim Calinir", the tragic and much-condemned incident has been a turnpoint in Turkish political history, with the Government taking a harder stance against religious fanaticism, militant Islam and antisecularism. There have also been national campaigns in late 2006 to convert the Hotel into a museum to commemorate the tragedy, carried out by the Pir Sultan Abdal Cultural Institute itself, the outcome of which are yet to be determined.

[edit] Sights

A cultural hub as well as an industrial one, Sivas features many monuments of 13th-century Seljuk architecture. Mavi Medrese from 1271, Sifaiye Medresesi from 1218 and the Çifte Minare Medresesi from 1271 with its intricately carved facade and minarets are among the most noteworthy edifices. The oldest mosque is the Great Mosque dating from the Turkmen era. Near Sivas lies the Armenian Christian monastery of the Holy Cross, with its royal throne and other relics.

Ulu Camii (Mosque) completed in 1196, is famous for its simplicity and it is a showcase for the Seljuk Turks' architectural success. The city is also famous for its Medreses (Madrasa). Gök Medresesi (the Celestial Madrasa) and Mavi Medrese were built in 1271. On the other hand, Sifaiye Medresesi was completed earlier, in the eve of the second wave of Turkic immigration to Anatolia, in 1218 and the with its intricately carved facade and minarets are among the most noteworthy edifices carries on the traditional Seljuk Medrese plan.

The city also contains some of the finest examples of the Ottoman architectural style. Kurşunlu Hamamı (Bath) which was completed in 1576, is the largerst bath in the city and it contains many details from the classical Ottoman bath building. Behrampaşa Hanı (Caravansaray), was completed in 1573 and it is famous for its lion motives around its windows.

Atatürk Kongre ve Etnografya Müzesi (Atatürk Congress and Ethnography Museum) is a museum that is dedicated to the Sivas Congress and the ethnographic pieces special to the region.

Sivas is also famous for its thermal springs which have a respectable percentage in the city's income. People believe that the water of these thermal springs can cure many illnesses. The most famous thermal areas are, Sıcak Çermik, Soğuk Çermik and Kangal Balıklı Kaplıca.

[edit] Notable natives

  • Nebahat Albayrak - Turkish-Dutch politician and currently state minister in the Netherland's government
  • Ahmet Ayık - World and Olympic champion sports wrestler

[edit] See also

[edit] External link

Coordinates: 39°45′N, 37°01′E

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