Sivas

Sivas exists where iron exists. The Divriği mines—now producing 35% of Turkey's iron ore—drew Seljuk investment eight centuries before modern extraction began in 1938. The Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital (1228-29), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, displays six conical portals with stalactite vaulting unprecedented in Islamic architecture. Wealth from medieval trade routes funded a monument; modern ore extraction continues the pattern of converting geological endowment into economic position.

The location also shaped foundational politics. In September 1919, Mustafa Kemal convened the Sivas Congress—the gathering that unified resistance movements into what became the Turkish War of Independence. The building where delegates declared "Either independence or death" survives as the Atatürk Congress Museum. The Republican People's Party (CHP) claims this as their founding moment. The Kangal dog breed—developed exclusively in Sivas's Kangal district, with DNA records dating to the 14th century—represents another founder effect: livestock guardians bred for specific Anatolian conditions over seven centuries.

The 2023 completion of the Ankara-Sivas high-speed rail transformed accessibility: journey times dropped from twelve hours to under three. Investment announcements cite this connectivity: 9 billion TL allocated for 406 projects in 2025 across transportation, energy, and rural infrastructure. The railway junction that made Sivas strategically important since Ottoman times gains new relevance as logistics networks reshape around speed rather than merely connectivity.

By 2026, Sivas tests whether iron ore heritage and nationalist commemoration can generate tourism revenue to supplement declining steel demand. The Divriği site remains undertouristed despite UNESCO status; the Sivas Congress anniversary draws crowds; the Kangal dog has niche international appeal.