| Type: | metro district |
| Develi | |
| Image Logo: | Develi_Municipality_Logo.jpg |
| Coordinates: | 38.3886°N 35.4925°W |
| Province: | Kayseri |
| Leader Party: | AKP |
| Leader Name: | Mehmet Cabbar |
| Area Total Km2: | 1892 |
| Population Total: | 66840 |
| Population As Of: | 2022 |
| Postal Code: | 38400 |
| Area Code: | 0352 |
| Other Name: | Everek |
Develi, formerly known as Averak or Everek, is a municipality and district of Kayseri Province, Turkey.[1] Its area is 1,892 km2,[2] and its population is 66,840 (2022).[3]
The historical name of the town is Everek and it is called Averak (ruin) in Armenian. 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 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 2500-2000 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 Bronze Age and the Seljuk Period. From 1867 until 1922, Develi was part of Angora vilayet. 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, 2.085 Greeks, 404 Catholics and 2 Protestants.[4]
The Fatih Mosque of Lower Everek (Turkish: Aşağı Everek Fatih Camisi|italic=yes) has its origins as a 200-year-old Armenian church in Everek quarter. The decaying building was first transformed into a mosque 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 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 and Virgin Mary 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.[5]
There are 78 neighbourhoods in Develi District:[6]
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 Seljuk motif, or the red logo of the Develi Kaymakamlık.[7] [8] [9] [10]