Sarıkaya Historical Roman Bath
Sarikaya Roman Bath, also known as the King's Daughter Bath, which was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2018, is located in the Kaplıcalar District of the Sarıkaya District of Yozgat. The ancient name of the Sarıkaya Roman Bath, which is located within the spa facilities, from the Roman Period is “Basilica Therma (Aqua Sarvenae)”.
Most of the Sarikaya Roman Bath was destroyed, only the west façade wall, which provides the passage to the vaulted back space, remained standing. In this part, a marble arched wall with 10 chambers and 2 floors is seen. The facade was made in accordance with the Corinthian order and the entablatur order. Except for the lowest parts of the half-columns on the arch pillars, other parts have been destroyed. Behind the western façade, there is a single-storey arch with 3 chambers, and the lower part stones of the inner arch rows that continue along the front façade arches to the north of it. Circular pool sections can be seen at the north and south ends of the wall, which is approximately 30 meters long.
Sarıkaya, which was called Aquae Sarvenae and Basilica Therma in Antiquity, was an important spa center at that time as well. The arcade series, which only allows the passage to the vaulted space of the bath from the Roman Period, and the bull-headed cornet motif decorations on it have survived to the present day. Although the structure was destroyed by the later additions, cleaning excavations were started in 2010 in order to contribute to Yozgat tourism.
The legend of the Sarıkaya Thermal Springs, known as the Roman King's Daughter Bath, is told among the people as follows: The daughter of one of the Roman kings living in Kayseri fell ill with an incurable disease. The king takes his daughter to many doctors and does everything for her treatment. But there is no cure for this girl, whose beauty is legendary. The girl's disease progressed day by day and she could no longer walk. His feet are not holding, his knees are blunt. Today, the girl's disease is rheumatism. In those days, Sarıkaya was a reed and swamp. A small pond has formed where the hot water is, this is a muddy bath in the form of slime. The king sends his little girl to visit the place where this hot water is found as a last resort. The poor girl, who is now living the few days of her life, wanders around this muddy pond to be consoled, and from time to time goes into the mud with her friends. The mud and hot water she enters for walking and comforting is good for the girl. She stays here for a while, day by day the girl's illness starts to get better. The blunt knees open; she slowly begins to take steps and walk. It turns out that the beautiful girl, who finally recovered completely, is better than the hot water here. Thereupon, the girl's father, the king, had a marble pool built here, surrounded by large cut stones, and a city was formed around this pool, where there was no one before. The name of the king's daughter is given to this new city. The name of this city with a population of seventy thousand is "Öper" or "Hoperi". Transportation to the city is provided from the Yozgat and Kayseri highways passing through the Beştepeler area of Sarıkaya. This great city was destroyed as a result of an earthquake, only the baths remained.
