Tokat

Capital of Tokat province, northern Turkey, on the Yesilirmak River, 75 km/47 mi north of Sivas; population (1990) 83,100. It lies beneath a fortified crag on the northern plateau of Anatolia. The city is a market centre, and produces copperware and leather goods.

Features Notable Seljuk architecture includes a theological college, the Gök Medrese or Blue Seminary, which was originally dressed with blue tiles. Its entrance is decorated with unusual carvings giving the appearance of stalactites.

History Formerly a station on ancient trans-Anatolian trade routes, Tokat became a frontier city under the Byzantines, until it was seized by the Mongols. After an unsettled period of rule, the Ottoman Empire took the city at the request of its inhabitants.