Sarıkaya Roman Bath: Basilica Therma Hot Springs

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1. What is Sarıkaya Roman Bath?
2. How do you get to Sarıkaya Roman Bath?
3. When is the best time to visit Sarıkaya Roman Bath?
4. What is the history of Sarıkaya Roman Bath?
5. What is Sarıkaya Roman Bath famous for?
6. What can you see at Sarıkaya Roman Bath?
7. Common misconceptions about Sarıkaya Roman Bath
8. Frequently asked questions about Sarıkaya Roman Bath
9. What do the official records say about Sarıkaya Roman Bath?

What is Sarıkaya Roman Bath?

Sarıkaya Roman Bath, known as Basilica Therma and locally as the Kral Kızı Hamamı (“bath of the king’s daughter”), is a Roman spa in the centre of Sarıkaya, a district town in Yozgat province. It was built in the 2nd century AD over hot springs and has been used, in one form or another, ever since: in the Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods and today.

Opening hours change through the year, so check them before you visit. There is also an inner pool and a third pool where thermal water rises through the floor. The bath is sometimes identified with ancient Aquae Saravenae, though Kırşehir also claims that name.

In 2018 it was added to Türkiye’s UNESCO Tentative List.

How do you get to Sarıkaya Roman Bath?

The bath is in the town of Sarıkaya, in the south of Yozgat province, and the old Roman remains stand within the town’s hot-spring area. A car is the most practical way to get there from Yozgat city, and Sarıkaya fits well into a road trip that also takes in Kerkenes, Çamlık National Park and Hattusa.

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When is the best time to visit Sarıkaya Roman Bath?

Any season works. In winter the steam rising from the warm water is most striking, and a soak in the town’s modern thermal baths is most welcome. Spring and autumn are good for combining Sarıkaya with Kerkenes, Çamlık National Park and Hattusa on a road trip.

What is the history of Sarıkaya Roman Bath?

The hot springs of Sarıkaya have been used for bathing since antiquity. The Romans built the bath in the 2nd century AD, and it remained in use under Byzantium and the Seljuks; the 2002 inventory notes that the water was used for spa treatment in both periods.

The inventory describes the hot spring as rising at two separate points, at about 48°C and 28 litres per second, and records that the area had been declared a tourism centre. It also recommended restoring the historic bath remains and opening them to tourism. In 2018 the Roman bath was placed on UNESCO’s Tentative List under the name Basilica Therma.

In Turkish the bath is known both as the Sarıkaya Roma Hamamı and as the Kral Kızı Hamamı, “bath of the king’s daughter”.

What is Sarıkaya Roman Bath famous for?

• A Roman spa still fed by hot springs, nearly two thousand years after it was built.
• The great pool, more than 23 m long, filled with water at around 45°C.
• The carved arches with their bull-head frieze.
• UNESCO Tentative List status since 2018.

What can you see at Sarıkaya Roman Bath?

Opening hours change through the year, so check them before you visit.

The Roman arches. The inventory describes an arched structure 2.5 m high, 1 m wide and 7 m long, in three parts. At the top, a frieze runs its full length, decorated with bull-head (bucranium) motifs; below the crowning cornice are nine niches side by side, and a metre lower another row of nine.

The inner pools. A smaller inner pool and a third pool where the hot water wells up through the floor.

The modern spa. Thermal facilities in the town use the same water.

Common misconceptions about Sarıkaya Roman Bath

Is Sarıkaya definitely ancient Aquae Saravenae?

What people often assume: Sarıkaya is often presented as the Roman spa town of Aquae Saravenae.

What the record says: The identification is likely but disputed; Kırşehir is also proposed as Aquae Saravenae (Basilica Therma, Wikipedia).

Frequently asked questions about Sarıkaya Roman Bath

What do the official records say about Sarıkaya Roman Bath?

The Roman Arches in Sarıkaya district of Yozgat province stand inside the hot-spring facilities in the district centre. Rising 2.5 metres from the ground, 1 metre wide and 7 metres long, the arch consists of three parts. Under the arch capital, decorated at the very top with friezes running from end to end and with ox-head motifs, there are nine niches side by side, and one metre below these niches nine more niches are lined up side by side. These arches, remains of the Roman Bath, hold an important place in the history of Yozgat.

The hot spring in the centre of Sarıkaya district rises to the surface from two separate points, with a temperature of 48 degrees Celsius and a flow of 28 litres per second. It is known that this hot water was also used for spa treatment in the Byzantine and Seljuk periods. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Yozgat Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)