City of Kayseri

The city of Kayseri has a population of approx 1 million.  Much of the construction in the city is high rise apartments, many of which appear to be new.  There were neighborhoods that we passed as we drove from site to site where the individual homes were in the process of being demolished to make room for new high rises.  The homes were constructed of stone blocks and many appeared to be in poor condition.  The apartments are pretty attractive with a variety of shapes, colors and styles with balconies, etc.  The public transportation system appears to be  good one, with a tram and bus system.  I was astounded at how few cars are on the streets given the population of the city.  The city is similarly planted with flowers in public places just like Istanbul. 

I love that the tram tracks have grass growing between them.  What a nice additional green space!

After speaking with several residents and tour guides, it was very clear that the city has a clear identity as a source of business entrepreneurs.  People say if you are smart you go into business, if not, you go to university.  The city is one of the top most developed cities in the country and many residents are very well off (above average per capita GDP).

The city is famous for its meats, especially sojuk (sp?) sausages, which we were served for breakfast at the university, and pastrami.

The city also has good soccer players.  We were told the team took 5th in the country competition last year, where the three Istanbul teams always take the top 3 spots, so this was pretty impressive.