Sivas

Sivas is a city in Central Anatolia, with a population in 2020 of 335,570. By road it's 450 km east of Ankara, and stands at 1278 m elevation. It's industrial but has several 13th century Seljuk buildings, and is a transport hub.

Understand
In the first century BC, the Romans called this place Sebaste for their emperor. There are scant remnants of those times as a series of conquerors came, smashed the place and marched on. However in 1174 it fell to the Seljuks, the Turkic people who supplanted Byzantine Rome in this region, and their fine medreses remain. The Ottomans arose in the 13th century and captured Sivas, but in 1400 Tamerlane stormed all the way from Kabul, occupied much of present day Turkey, and almost crushed the Ottoman dynasty. They regained the town in 1408 and held it until the modern republican era. It was here at the congress of 1919 that Atatürk cemented his position of leadership and launched the War of Independence.

Sivas stands on a high-altitude plain with hot, dry summers and bitterly cold, snowy winters. Summer nights can still be chilly, especially if the breeze picks up, so bring along at least some cold-weather clothing regardless of season. This climate suits hardy varieties of wheat, so the main industry is based on agriculture, such as manufacture of cereals.

By plane
There are two flights a day from Istanbul IST and from SAW, taking 90 min. All other connections involve changing in Istanbul. The airport is big enough for its limited flights and has car hire.



By train
High speed YHT trains run three times daily from Ankara to Sivas at 08:00, 13:00, and 18:10, with the same return times. They take 2 hr 30 min via Kırıkkale and Yozgat; an adult single in 2023 is 240 TL economy, 360 TL business class. Two daily services also continue to and from Istanbul.

Conventional trains from Ankara run daily and take 11 hours via Kayseri (bypassed by the YHT). These have couchettes and a sleeping car, some carry a buffet but don't rely on it, bring your own rations. It's expected that these services will change radically once the YHT service is bedded in, as the Ankara trains could instead terminate in Sivas.


 * Vangölü Express continues eastwards to Elazığ and Tatvan, which has buses and an occasional ferry to Van, for trains to Tabriz and Tehran in Iran.
 * Guney Kurtalan Express runs via Malatya to Diyarbakır and Kurtalan.
 * Dogu Express runs via Divriği, Erzincan and Erzurum to Kars. There's also a twice daily regional train between Erzincan, Divriği and Sivas.

Additionally, the regional Hattı train runs daily from Samsun on the Black Sea coast, taking eight hours via Havza and Amasya. It departs both ways around 08:30.



By bus
Direct buses run from Istanbul five or six times a day, taking 12 hours for a fare in 2022 of 600 TL, otherwise change in Ankara. Buses from Ankara run every two hours and take 7 hours, for a fare of 350 TL. They may continue east to Erzincan (3½ hours) and Erzurum (6 hours), or southeast to Elazığ, Tatvan and Van, or south to Gaziantep and Adana. The main operator on these routes is Flixbus; another is Metroturizm.



Get around
Town bus routes are:


 * 1-A, 1-B, 1-D, 2-A and 2-B passes Sivas Train Station.
 * Except 6-A, 6-B, 6-C, 11-B and 11-C, all bus lines go to the Coach Station.
 * 6-B, 6-C and 11-B passes Sivas Police Headquarter.
 * 6-C and 11-B passes the "Eğriköprü" which is a historical bridge.
 * 2-A and 2-B passes the "Kesikköprü" which is a historical bridge.
 * 5-A and 5-B passes the Tomb of Abdulvahhabi Gazi.
 * 11-B and 11-C go to the Cumhuriyet University.

Taxi fares in 2022 average 6 TL flagfall then 11 TL per km. So to city centre reckon 30 TL from the railway station, 40 TL from the bus station and 250 TL from the airport.

See
Sivas is famous for its three madrasas - Islamic schools - built by rival patrons in the late 13th century and vying with each other for splendour.


 * Behram Paşa Han the ancient caravanserai and market is now a hotel, see Sleep.
 * 10 km west of town is a children's amusement park. Within it is an exhibition of war horses, admission 10 TL.
 * Behram Paşa Han the ancient caravanserai and market is now a hotel, see Sleep.
 * 10 km west of town is a children's amusement park. Within it is an exhibition of war horses, admission 10 TL.
 * Behram Paşa Han the ancient caravanserai and market is now a hotel, see Sleep.
 * 10 km west of town is a children's amusement park. Within it is an exhibition of war horses, admission 10 TL.
 * Behram Paşa Han the ancient caravanserai and market is now a hotel, see Sleep.
 * 10 km west of town is a children's amusement park. Within it is an exhibition of war horses, admission 10 TL.
 * Behram Paşa Han the ancient caravanserai and market is now a hotel, see Sleep.
 * 10 km west of town is a children's amusement park. Within it is an exhibition of war horses, admission 10 TL.
 * Behram Paşa Han the ancient caravanserai and market is now a hotel, see Sleep.
 * 10 km west of town is a children's amusement park. Within it is an exhibition of war horses, admission 10 TL.

Do



 * Football: Sivasspor play soccer in Süper Lig, Turkey's top tier, and sometimes qualify for European tournaments. Their home ground is New Sivas 4 Eylül Stadium (capacity 27,500), opened in 2016. It's 3 km west of city centre near the junction with D200 - that's one km beyond the former stadium, don't let the taxi driver fob you off.
 * Football: Sivasspor play soccer in Süper Lig, Turkey's top tier, and sometimes qualify for European tournaments. Their home ground is New Sivas 4 Eylül Stadium (capacity 27,500), opened in 2016. It's 3 km west of city centre near the junction with D200 - that's one km beyond the former stadium, don't let the taxi driver fob you off.

Buy
handcrafted silver, handcrafted cigarette holder and pen, famous carpets and rugs

Eat

 * Local specialties: Sivas Köfte somewhat resembles pork sausage. Others are pezük pickle, Sivas döner, Sivas kebap, sübüra, hurma and yumurta erişte.
 * Around Meydan are Lezzetçi (below), Serkan Bey, Komagene Çiğ Köfte Salonu, Serender, Pizza Point and 3N Sofra.

Drink
Just east of Meydan are Rain Pub, Merkez Türkü Bar, Sis Pub and Kervan Biranesi.

Sleep

 * Buruciye Otel is next to Beyaz Inci, cleanliness varies.
 * Kosk Hotel is at Atatürk Blv 7, 200 m east of Meydan.
 * Malia Hotel is next to Keykavus, similar prices.
 * Malia Hotel is next to Keykavus, similar prices.
 * Malia Hotel is next to Keykavus, similar prices.
 * Malia Hotel is next to Keykavus, similar prices.
 * Malia Hotel is next to Keykavus, similar prices.
 * Malia Hotel is next to Keykavus, similar prices.

Connect
As of Nov 2022, Sivas and its approach highways have 4G from all Turkish carriers. 5G has not rolled out in Turkey.

Go next

 * Yıldız Dağı is a mountain resort 50 km north, with ski lifts.
 * Soğuk Çermik is a spa 20 km east on D200, near a lake.
 * Kangal on the road to Divriği is the source of the Kangal breed of sheepdogs. The town spa touts its fish pedicures, a fashion that came and went in the west with little benefit to feet or fishes.
 * Divriği, with its impressive UNESCO World Heritage listed mosque, is 180 km southeast, reached by bus or train from Sivas.
 * Kayseri also has Seljuk heritage and serves as an entry point into Cappadocia.