TALAS – KAYSERİ SİT ALANLARI VE ARKEOLOJİK SİT POTANSİYELLERİNE YÖNELİK TESPİTLER VE ÖNERİLER

Talas emerges as an important settlement which still preserves its old cultural texture in Kayseri province despite the rapid urbanization in the modern time. The cultural traces of old Talas settlements among the cemented fields in its close vicinity maintain their potentials to become a center of attraction for visitors even nowadays. However, as it is the case for almost all of our rapidly urbanizing cities, Old Talas settlement is facing the threat of losing its cultural texture with each passing day. Planning studies implemented up to the present for preserving the tangible cultural values of Old Talas settlements and integrating them into the urban life are extremely inadequate. Within the context of the study, all the protection statuses in Talas Conservation Development Plan, which is in effect, were briefly evaluated according to the result of our field surveys carried out here and particularly some recommendations for the archaeological site potentials in Old Talas settlements were brought forth. Thus, it was aimed to provide guidance to the local authorities for Talas to be included among the tourism destinations in Cappadocia Region. Talas, which still maintains its importance due to its strategic location is in the center of a central district integrated with Kayseri city center. The settlement, which hosts both many public buildings and establishments, as well as a significant population of Kayseri is now a center of attraction. The roads reaching Erciyes Ski Center which is one of the most important centers of winter tourism in Turkey are also located at the crossroads. In addition, Talas, which has hosted the airplane tournaments for racing paragliding and sporting purposes in recent years in Ali Mountain, is rapidly urbanizing. The plains extending to the city center are now united with the city, and the villages in the vicinity of Ali Mountain in the back are on the foreground with small scale and many hobby agriculture and livestock activities in Talas.Talas must have gained today's strategic importance at the earliest stages of history. Some architectural constructions, which are still in existence today, offer clues in this regard. Due to its strategic importance, many travelers who visited Kayseri also visited Talas. The best known of these is the English traveler W.J. Hamilton. Talas has an important place in the studies of these travelers whose numbers have increased with Hamilton. Many of these buildings, which are mentioned in the city, especially with the non-Muslim population and their architectural works, are preserved at the basic level. Architectural artifacts that reflect the old cultural heritage of Talas are more concentrated in the rocky and rugged parts of the settlement. These areas, now known as "Upper Talas", are being protected by the protection measures in force. Urbanization in the province is mostly concentrated in the plains outside these cultural values. Remains such as castle, tumulus and tumulus grave which indicate presence in the small peaks of the rural settlements of Talas indicate that the human settlements there extend far beyond what is known. It is therefore necessary to refer to Talas as an important settlement not only of the non-Muslim population, which is partly known by its remnants but also of the Kingdom of Cappadocia. However, a detailed study has not yet been made on the archaeological remains of these periods. Considering the Kültepe settlement in the vicinity, it is understood that the human settlements around Talas were based on present at least 5000 years ago. But cultural remains dating back to such early periods in Talas have not yet been found. All the political developments that took place in Anatolian political history must have affected the region and Talas. Traces of continuous settlements in Talas can also be seen in Seljuk, Ottoman and Turkey Republican periods. Talas, known as a small and charming town of Kayseri at the beginning of the 20th century, developed rapidly after attaining district status in 1987. Due to military facilities and educational institutions in the province, today more than 150 people are inhabited. We do not have any definite knowledge about the root of the name of Talas which is the forerunner of Kayseri's nostalgic excursion and residence. However, according to some western scientists who conducted short-term research in the area, Talas' name should have come from a settlement known as "Mutaleske". We see that this city, supposed to be in the Kappadokia Region, is equalized with the present Talas. Sources the city of Mutaleske is also the birthplace of some Saints, who are antagonistic as important personalities in Christianity. Due to these Saints who believed that they had important activities in terms of the Christian world during the period Talas was built with a significant number of religious buildings. In fact, Talas owes much of his current cultural assets to these Saints as "Sabas". It is understood that Talas which grew a significant number of clergy and became increasingly enriched in religious architecture due to this was a shining place in Cappadocia especially after the Early Christian period. Thus, numerous researcher trips have been made to the region, which attracts attention of western travelers and scientists. Especially with religious and political content that started inthe 19th century, it is understood that these visits continued on the scientific basis after the middle of the 20th century. This rich cultural remains of Talas is under the threat of modern urbanism today. Starting from the earliest periods of history the continuing cultural settlements of the settlement are being confined to an increasingly narrow area. It can not be said that the planning works carried out without considering the conservation-use balance adequately protect the cultural texture. Although it is assumed that the conservation measures with the situational statutes and the boundaries of the site are taken in the current Conservation Development Plan, it is concluded that the cultural texture of the old Talas can not be fully preserved in this planning. It is understood that there is no satisfactory work in the direction of bringing the cultural touch to Cappadocia tourism and the Kayseri economy. However, Talas has a rich cultural texture that deserves to be the most important place to visit among Cappadocia tourism destinations. In this study, Talas' geopolitical importance, strategic position for Kayseri, archeology and valuable concrete values for ancient sciences are briefly emphasized firstly. Later on, the inadequacy of legal protection measures to protect these riches was emphasized. Our own findings on the preservation of cultural tastes were supported by rich visuals and some suggestions were made. As a result, some suggestions have been made so that Talas which has a significant tourism potential, can guide the interested local administrators in attaining the position they deserve.