TOKAT TURKEY
10.05.2021
Tokat
With its deep-rooted history and hosting manycivilizations, Tokat is considered as one ofthe first settlements of humanity. The city is rich in touristattractions. Tokat Castle in the center ofthe city and Zile, Niksar and Turhal Castles inits districts are frequented by local and foreign tourists. Latifoğlu Mansion MuseumHouse, built in the 18th century in the Ottoman-Baroque style, Tokat ClockTower, built in honor of the 25th anniversaryof Abdulhamid II´s ascension to the throne, and the GökMadrasah, built in the 13th century is locatedin the city center. Yağıbasan Madrasah which is acontinuation of the Nizamiye Madrasahtradition, is one of the cultural centers worth seeing.
Roman Period Arsenal
The floor of the Arsenal, located in Niksar citycenter, is covered with lime (Khorasan) mortar. There is a ventilation shaft onthe ceiling which is approximately 4 m long. The entrances are decorated with abrickwork belt. The wall thickness is 1.20 m. In terms of its architecturaltexture, it is considered that it belongs to the 2nd-3rd centuriesCE.
Yağıbasan Madrasah
Yağıbasan Madrasah (Yağıbasan Medresesi) are two madrasahs located in Tokat and Niksar. YağıbasanMadrasah in Tokat is also known as Çukur Madrasah (Çukur Medrese). Themadrasah, built in 1151 and 1152, is important in that it is one of the firstexamples of Anatolian madrasas with closedcourtyards.
Ballıca Cave
Ballıca Cave Nature Park (Ballıca Mağarası TabiatParkı) is a natural heritage site that was listedin the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2019.It is 7 kilometers south of Tokat Pazar districtcenter. Ballıca Cave, whose age is determined as 3.4 millionyears, has a special position among its peers in the world. The entrance to thecave on the slope of a semi-rocky hill is provided by a partially smoothedbedrock block. The most important characteristic of the cave, whose walkablepart is 94 meters high, is that it has "onion stalactite"formations. Another important feature of the cave is the presence of dwarf batsliving in colonies.
Clock Tower
It was built for the 25th anniversary of AbdulhamidII´s becoming the sultan. With large dials in four directions,the clock chimes every half hour and on the hour with two-minute intervals.
Tokat Castle
The Tokat Castle (Tokat Kalesi), whichwas established for road safety in the Roman Period,was under Byzantine rule for about 500years. Conquered by Danişmend Melik Gazi for thefirst time in 1074, the castle passed into other hands at short intervals andpassed under the rule of Danishmends, Seljuk, Ilkhanid, Eretna, KadıBurhanettin and the Ottoman Empire, respectively. The castle,built on steep rocks, is a natural fortress.
Zile Castle
Zile Castle (ZileKalesi), located in the center of Zile district,is a Roman castle built in ancient times on a mound, andhas an acropolis feature. It can be seen from all over the city because it islocated in the middle of the district center. The clock tower, which has lostits function, and other ruins can be seen inside the castle. Moreover, the watercistern of the castle is in its original appearance. There is also a smallRoman period theater carved into the rocks to the northeast of the castle. Itis narrated that the famous Commander Julius Caesar saidthe word "Veni Vidi Vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered) atthe end of the war in Zile Castle.
Taşhan
Built in 1631, Taşhan is a great Ottoman work.There is a courtyard in the middle of the rectangular and two-storey inn. Thereare projects to turn the 112-room building into a hotel without spoiling itsnostalgic character. Today, it is surrounded by cafes and shopping stores.
Yazmacılar Inn
Yazmacılar Inn (Yazmacılar Han), which was named as GazioğluInn in the past, but changed its name in parallel to itsspecial production in recent years, is one of the historical buildings you willsee on the road while you are in Sulu street.
Tokat Mevlevi Lodge
The Mevlevi Lodge located in Soğukpınar Mahallesi was builtin the 17th century. It is extremely flamboyant in terms ofarchitecture. Spreading over an area of 3 thousand square meters, the MevleviLodge is divided into three as ground, entrance and upper levels.
Mahperi Hatun Caravanserai
The courtyard and the closed part were built in 1238 according to thefour-line thuluth line inscriptions on their portals. It is located on thecaravan road connecting Konya to Sinop. The building consists of two parts, thesummer part and the winter part. The summer part has a courtyard and a portico.The winter part is completely covered and covered with vaults on stanchions.The summer and winter parts are entered through portal doors with muqarnashoods. The walls are covered with stone and supported externally by buttresses.
Arastalı Bedesten (Covered Bazaar) (Tokat Museum)
From the surviving ruins and historical sources, ArastalıBedesten is estimated to be built in the 15th-16th centuries.Bedesten is the name given to all covered, sheltered bazaars for the sale ofprecious fabrics, jewelry and similar items. In the period they were built,they were both important economic institutions and substituted today´s banksand stock exchanges. In Tokat Museum, which was opened onSeptember 18, 2012, the archaeological artifacts are exhibited in the part ofthe building called covered bazaar.
Komana Ancient City
There were two temple states operating in the HellenisticPeriod within the borders of today´s Tokat whichis in the inner parts of the Black Sea Region. The bigger onewas Komana, a Cappadocia type templededicated to the Mother Goddess Ma. The KomanaTemple State held police status and was used as a tradecenter by visitors from the surrounding area throughout the year. Afterthe Kingdom of Pontus collapsed and Mitradates VI fled, KomanaTemple State became a principality and was handed overto Archelaus by Pompey in the middle of the 1st centuryBCE. With the death of the last king Dyteutus,Komana was included in the Pontus GalaticusRegion. By this time, the priests had significantly losttheir power, but the temple maintained its function. The region was in thestatus of ager publicus for a while between the period of the PontusKings and the period of Emperor Maurice.
Gök Madrasah
This historical monument, which was used as a museum for many years, isone of the Seljuk works. The building isfrom the 13th (1277) century. It has the most distinctivefeatures of Anatolian Seljuk architectureand art. Gök Madrasah (Gök Medrese) planned with 2 floors, 2iwans, a courtyard whose middle is open and a portico, and has stone, tile andplaster decorations. The tile decoration is located on the courtyard facade.The walls of the main iwan and the arches of the upper storey porches aredecorated with aubergine purple, dark blue and turquoise colored tiles and geometricand herbal ornaments.
Atatürk House
Mustafa KemalAtatürk visited Tokat manytimes during the years of the national struggle and on his fourth visit, KemalAtatürk and his wife Latife Hanım were guests onSeptember 25, 1925 in this mansion, which belonged to his friend PiyadeYüzbaşı (Infantry Captain) Mustafa Vasfi SÜSOY from Tokat whowas on the Bandırma Ferry and was also adeputy after the proclamation of the Republic. The mansion is open to visitorstoday as Atatürk House and Ethnography Museum (Atatürk Evi ve Etnografya Müzesi).
Latifoğlu Mansion Museum
Latifoğlu Mansion (Latifoğlu Konağı), located in the center of Tokat, is known to bebuilt in 1746 in the Ottoman Baroque style. Thetwo-storey mansion built on an "L" shaped plan withmud-brick filling material between frames. There is a square-planned pool inthe stone-paved courtyard of the mansion. The mansion, whose rooms are aroundan "L" shaped anteroom, has a free plan concept.
Halit Street - Sulu Street
Sulu street, formingthe old city center of Tokat and also the historicaltrade center of the city and the residential settlement integrated with it aswell as Halit Street are important as they carry the tracesof all civilizations that have been established in Tokatuntil today.
Bey Street – Beyhamam Street
The houses belonging to the Young Ottoman and Republic Periods locatedin the city center of Tokat, Bey Streetand Beyhamam Street facing the street in two directionsare examples of well-preserved civil architecture of Anatolia.
Garipler Mosque
Garipler Mosque (Garipler Cami) is known to be built in the last quarter of the 11th century(1080-1090). Garipler Mosque, located inthe Pazarcık District of Tokat city center, ispopularly known as the Yeşil Minareli Mosque due tothe green glazed bricks in its minaret. It is the oldest mosque in Anatolia afterthe 1071 Malazgirt Victory.
Ulu Mosque
Ulu Mosque is one of the mosques that preserves its originality. It is exemplifiedin terms of its decorations and architectural intelligence. Ulu Mosque hasbecome one of the frequently visited sightseeing spots as it hosts thebirdhouse.
Bird House
Bird House (Kuş Evi), known to be built in the 12th century, is one ofthe oldest works of Tokat. The stone carved birdhouse on the wall of Ulu Mosque hasbeen thought to be formed by the people´s deep love for animals since ancienttimes.
Ali Paşa Mosque
Ali Pasha wasfrom Bosnia and grew up in Enderun (special school in theottoman palace). After serving in various palace duties, he served in Erzurum(3 times), Karaman, Baghdad, Sivas and Anatolian Beylerbeyliği (governor). AliPasha died on 2 June 1572 when he was the Governor of Erzurum. While Ali Pashawas the governor of Erzurum, upon the death of his son Mustafa Bey,he wanted to build a tomb and a mosque next to it in Tokat.
Deveciler Inn
Deveciler Inn (Deveciler Hanı), also known as FatihMehmet Paşa Inn, is located to the south of TakyecilerMosque and to the west of YağıbasanMadrasah. Considering the historical developments of theinn’s architecture and the muqarnas on the niches on both sides of the entrancedoor, the applied architecture and decoration techniques, it is estimated thatthe building was built in the period of Çelebi Mehmet(1413-1421) or his son Murat II (1421-1451),because it is known that there was an intense reconstruction activity in theregion at that time. There are many works that have survived from the sameperiod.
Maşat Tumulus
As a result of the excavations carried out in MaşatTumulus (Maşat Höyük) between 1973 and 1984, cuneiformtablets belonging to the Hittites werefound. It can be said that the historical artifacts unearthed here are the mostimportant works that illuminate the history of Tokat.The tablets and items are exhibited in Tokat Museum. Asa result of the studies carried out on the mound, it is understood thatthe Old Bronze Age was in 3000 BCE, the Hittite Age wasin 2000 BCE, and the Phrygian Age was in 1000 BCE.The Hittite palatial architecture can easily be understood from the ruins here.
Sebastapolis Ancient City
Located in Sulusaray district center, theancient city was built on a large mound whose history started in the EarlyBronze Age. The foundation date of Sebastapolis(Sebastapolis Antik Kenti) is around the 1st centuryBCE. During the reign of Roman Emperor Traianus (C.E.98 - 117), Pontus Galaticus separatedfrom Polemoniacus states and was included in the stateof Cappadocia. The inscription on this subject was erectedby the notables and people of the city in the name of Arrian,the Governor of Cappadocia.
Sulusaray Hot springs
Sulusaray Hot springs, boiling among the ruins of Sebastapolis, is the mostimportant hot spring in the region. The hot spring water, which is 55 C, hasbeen defined as salty, sulphated-slightly bitter according to itsminerals. Sulusaray Kaplıcası (SulusarayHot spring), heals those who suffer from rheumatic diseases.
Horoztepe
In Horoztepe, some graves dating backto 3000 BCE were found. Various "Burial gifts", thecustom of the ancient people, were discovered. Metal and gold ornaments areexhibited in Ankara Anatolian Civilizations Museum.The most important sculpture among the unearthed works is the bronze sculptureof a woman breastfeeding her child.
Aktepe Tumulus
Aktepe Tumulus (Aktepe Höyüğü) near the town of Çamlıbel carries the heritageof the Bronze, Hittite and Phrygian Periods to thepresent.
Leylekli Bridge
Leylekli Bridge (LeylekliKöprü) is on Çanakçı stream, nextto Arasta mosque. It is a Roman period work. It has asingle arch and is in a semicircular shape. The stone on the arch keystonedepicts a stork figure holding a snake in its beak.