Develi, formerly known as ''Averak'' or ''Everek'', is a municipality and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Kayseri Province The Kayseri Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality in central Turkey. Its area is 16,970 km2, and its population is 1,441,523 (2022). It borders with Sivas, Adana, Niğde, Kahramanmaraş, Yozgat and Nevşehir provinces. T ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Its area is 1,892 km², and its population is 66,840 (2022).

History

The historical name of the town is Everek and it is called ''Averak'' (ruin) in

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

. A historian and geographer who lived in the fourteenth century, gives the name of the butcher Mustavfi as Davalu. According to him, it was a medium-sized city and its walls were rebuilt by

Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...

Sultan Alaeddin. In the work called Cihannüma, written in the seventeenth century, the town is called Davahlu. According to historical sources, cultural traces of civilizations that lived in Develi between 2500 and 2000 BC have been found. There is still a need for scientific research in Develi, which hosts many civilizations in the historical process between the

Copper Age The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in dif ...

, the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and the

Period. From 1867 until 1922, Develi was part of

Angora vilayet The Vilayet of Angora () or Ankara was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, centered on the city of Angora (Ankara) in north-central Anatolia, which included most of ancient Galatia. Demographics At the beginni ...

. Following the Circassian genocide, many displaced

Circassians The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe (Adyghe language, Adyghe and ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in t ...

were resettled in the region of Develi by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. According to the 1914 Ottoman population statistics, the district of Develi had a total population of 49.128, consisting of 30.948 Muslims, 15.689

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

, 2.085

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

, 404

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and 2

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. The Fatih Mosque of Lower Everek () has its origins as a 200-year-old Armenian church in Everek quarter. The decaying building was first transformed into a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

in 1978 and, when routine maintenance works were initiated in 1998, it was discovered that the interior decoration was still very much present, simply covered with

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

as they were during the 1978 transformation. This discovery led to an ongoing divergence of opinions between the national authority for foundations, responsible for maintenance of mosques in Turkey, which is in favor of covering the

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

and

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

figures again, and Kayseri Governorship's cultural protection unit which advocates a restoration to their state of origin, a move that would put an end to the edifice's use as a mosque, this use currently being restrained to a part of the building until an official decision is made. In 2004, in order to protect the cultural heritage, the works were ordered to be stopped by the then mayor of Develi, Ali Ağca, while an intermediate solution was found in between. St Toros

Composition

There are 78

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

in Develi District: * Abdulbaki * Alparslan * Aşağı Everek * Aşık Seyrani * Ayşepınar * Ayvazhacı * Bahçebaşı * Bahçelievler * Büyükkünye * Çadıryeri * Camiicedit * Çataloluk * Çayırözü * Çaylıca * Çomaklı * Çöten * Çukuryurt * Cumhuriyet * Derebaşı * Dereşimli * Develi Camikebir * E.Camikebir * Epçe * Eşelik * Fatih * Fenese Aşağı * Fenese Yukarı * Gazi * Gömedi * Gümüşören * Güney Aşağı * Güney Yukarı * Harman * Havadan * Hoşça * Hüseyinli * İbrahim Ağa * İncesu * İzmirli * Kabaklı * Kaleköy * Karacaören * Kılıçkaya * Kızık * Kopçullu * Köseler * Kozluca * Küçükkünye * Kulpak * Mehmet Akif Ersoy * Millidere * Mustafa Asım Köksal * Öksüt * Reşadiye * Şahmelik * Saraycık * Sarıca * Sarıkaya * Satı * Şehit Üsteğmen Hasan Şahan * Şıhlı * Sindelhöyük Camikebir * Sindelhöyük Fatih * Sindelhöyük Yenice * Sindelhüyük * Soysallı * Taşçı * Tombak * Yaylacık * Yazıbaşı * Yedek * Yenice * Yenihayat * Yeniköy * Yenimahalle * Yeşilyurt * Yüzevler * Zile

Logo

The logo of the Develi Municipality features the Seyrani Monument and mausoleum of Dev Ali in front of Mount Erciyes among other elements such as flamingos. It is not to be confused with the corporate identity of Develi which features a

motif, or the red logo of the Develi '' Kaymakamlık.''

References

External sources

Develi Municipality

Develi District Governorship

Develi web portal
* Krikorian, Aleksan. Evereg-Fenesse: Its Armenian History and Traditions. Detroit, MI: Evereg-Fenesse Mesrobian-Roupinian Educational Society, 1990. 186 pp.
Evereg Fenesse Educational Society
* Der-Sarkissian, Jack. “A Tale of Twin Towns: Everek and Fenesse.” Armenian Kesaria/Kayseri and Cappadocia . Ed. Richard G. Hovannisian. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers, 2013. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260676697_A_Tale_of_Twin_Towns_Everek_and_Fenesse {{Authority control Populated places in Kayseri Province Districts of Kayseri Province Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey

History

Composition

Logo

See also

References

External sources