Ovaçiftlikköy: Sultan Sazlığı and Çiftlik Stele

Ovaçiftlikköy offers two different reasons to visit: the village is the gateway to the Sultan Sazlığı Bird Sanctuary, and the Çiftlik Stele was found here. The Ovaçiftlik Visitor and Information Centre is part of Sultan Sazlığı National Park. These two themes offer a clear guide for planning a stay that includes nature watching and cultural history.

Nature watching at Sultan Sazlığı

Sultan Sazlığı is home to around 300 bird species and nearly 400 plant species. These figures give the area a clear profile for travellers interested in birds and plants. In the Ovaçiftlik area, birdwatching towers are located next to the visitor centre. They add designated observation points to a visit, making birdlife a distinct focus alongside the history of the place.

Also in the Ovaçiftlik area, next to the visitor centre, is a 1.6-kilometre wooden boardwalk or path. The specific distance can be taken into account when planning the day, without assuming a walking time. For families thinking together about what kind of nature experience suits their outing, the length offers a tangible point of reference. Those particularly interested in birds can also consider the observation towers. This places a named route and observation points side by side as different aspects of a nature visit.

Directions and access

A 1,200-metre road leads to Sultan Sazlığı from the Yeşilhisar–Yahyalı road. This provides a specific reference point for finding your way to the area. The Ovaçiftlik Visitor and Information Centre is operated by Sultan Pansiyon. Together with Ovaçiftlik’s description as the gateway to the Bird Sanctuary, this helps put the village’s connection to nature into context: Sultan Sazlığı is the main focus, while the village and its visitor centre provide a named point of reference.

The Çiftlik Stele and the history of the village

Ovaçiftlikköy’s past is tangible too: the Çiftlik Stele was found in 1933 in the village of Çiftlikköy, now Ovaçiftlikköy in Yeşilhisar district, Kayseri Province. The inscription is dated to the mid-8th century BC. It concerns the construction of a building by the ruler Tuwati. The discovery thus connects the history of the present-day village with a specific statement from antiquity. The inscription itself is important: it mentions the construction of a building, not its present-day use or a current place to visit.

When looking for a holiday rental in Ovaçiftlikköy, you can therefore first decide what matters most for your trip: is it Sultan Sazlığı, with birdwatching and the wooden path, or are you particularly interested in the history of the Çiftlik Stele? These two themes make the village interesting in different ways and provide a factual basis for deciding whether Ovaçiftlikköy suits your planned stay.

A cultural perspective on the region

In the wider region, reeds and Kındıra are part of local culture and play an important role in architecture and handicrafts. This regional cultural connection broadens the perspective beyond nature watching and the stele, without conflating the different themes: Sultan Sazlığı is associated with bird and plant species, the Çiftlik Stele with an ancient inscription, and reeds and Kındıra with cultural connections in architecture and crafts.

More pages about local areas: Pınarbaşı, Bünyan, Alaybeyli, Tatılı Köyü, Yeşilkent Belediyesi, Yukarıkızılçevrik, Büyükçakır and İncesu.

See the main travel overview: Kayseri.