All rights reserved. High mountains guard the northern and southern coasts, stealing the rain before it reaches the plateau. The rain that does penetrate falls unevenly, sometimes in cloudbursts which destroy standing crops and wash away top soil. Capricious weather often undoes the farmer's work, and disappointing harvests are frequent.
Summers are hot and dry, winters intensely cold, with snow sometimes lying up to three months.
As one goes east, this tough climate grows tougher. Kayseri lies in the centre of Turkey, in one of the large plains sunk in the plateau. Besides its commercial, agricultural and administrative importance, Kayseri had in 1949 the largest textile mill in Turkey, built in 1935 with Russian help under the first five-year plan. The broad valley in which Kayseri lies runs north-east from the town, carrying the main road and railway to Sivas and the east. This The new roads which now link Ankara with eastern Turkey and with Adana do not pass through Kayseri.