Sultan Sazlığı, north of Mount Erciyes and seventy kilometres from Kayseri, is one of the most important wetlands in Türkiye: it holds fresh and salt water ecosystems together, which is rare within the steppe; its biological diversity is rich for an Inner Anatolian steppe; and the two main bird migration routes between Africa and Europe cross here. It is described as the second most important bird sanctuary in Türkiye after Lake Manyas, and the only place in the world where the grass Puccinellia bulbosa grows.
Around 300 bird species and close to 400 plant species have been recorded. Cranes, flamingos and white-headed ducks are among the birds that use it — some living here, some resting on passage, some raising their young.
The marsh is largely reed bed, with stands of rush, sedge and other marsh plants, and in clear weather water lilies and irises open on the lake, among numerous floating islands of reed. This freshwater complex is separated to the south and north by Yay Gölü, a salt lake. You can go out among the reeds by boat, which is the way to photograph the birds. The marsh also supports the local economy: the villagers around it harvest reed in autumn and make mats and other handicrafts from it.
Its protection came in stages: declared a waterfowl conservation and breeding area in 1971, a nature conservation area in 1988, and a national park in 2006. The name comes from its use as a hunting and resting ground by the Ottoman sultans; Murad IV stayed here more than three months on his way to the Yerevan campaign of 1636, and had a road opened through Yay Gölü so that animals could reach the reeds for fodder. It lies within the Yahyalı, Develi and Yeşilhisar districts of Kayseri, with capacity for 6,000 visitors and 250 vehicles.
To get there, take the Yahyalı buses to Ova Çiftliği village; the marsh is two kilometres further on.
- Designated
- 17.03.2006
Entry fee
- Marmara group 3 · category 1 · Per person
- 65 ₺
Visiting hours
- Visiting hours
- 08:00 - 20:00
Getting there
- Access
- Take a Yahyalı bus to Ova Çiftliği village; the reserve is two kilometres further.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Kayseri as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from -1.5 °C in January to 22.4 °C in July; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in May, June, July, August and September; rainfall is heaviest in May (52 mm) and lightest in August (9 mm). Long-term means for 1931-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
