We set out from Aydın to go to Sarıkaya, a district of Yozgat, located in the middle of Turkey, at the point where the north-south and east-west highways overlap. Sarıkaya, called Terzili Hammam or Hamam Pazarı, which I came to about 60 years ago, evoked my childhood memories beyond the spa. The room we rented from Uncle Ali, the hot spring pool with its very hot and clear healing water, surrounded by lockers, with an open roof, and the warm pool surrounded by historical walls right next to it… It was our children’s favorite place, even though our elders did not like it. I never left my dream of the den where women did their laundry behind the warm pool. Especially the grove through which the wastewater passes was our most beautiful playground. I ate sparrow meat there for the first and last time. The children, led by Hacı Yücel Ağabey, cleaned the sparrows they had shot with a slingshot and were going to light a fire, but there were no matches, so I secretly brought the matches my mother used to light the gas stove. In return, I deserved a sparrow leg. While I was thinking about these, we entered the modern, charming and large Sarıkaya district, instead of the small sub-district Sarıkaya, which I left in 1957. We settled in the three-star Mehmetoğulları Hotel, right next to the bus station. The three-star hotel had a five-star atmosphere, with the friendly and cordial work of all the staff, especially the hotel owner Mr. Reşat Ertuğrul, the quality and taste of the food, and the cleanliness and order of the entire hotel. When we went down to the basement of the hotel by elevator, we met the hot spring pool, heated swimming pool, Turkish bath and sauna. With longing for years, I entered the hot spring water, which was approximately 48 degrees. This healing water, which I have been longing for for years, literally banished all the pain from my body. After breakfast, where hot pitas baked in the hotel oven added a special flavor, we went to the place where the open-air pools where I spent my childhood were located. While I thought I would go back to the 1950s, we went back 2000 years. My time machine worked very wrong!!! When the pools, hotels and motels were built in the 1950s, they were covered with rubble and shops were built on top of them. Along with the pools, a 2000-year-old culture was also left under the rubble. The spear doesn’t fit into the sack even though it was abandoned. When the ruins of historical Roman baths remained above the ground surface, they attracted the attention of some sensitive people. In response to the struggle initiated by the Deputy Mayor, Mr. Saadettin Öztürk, the excavations were initiated by Sarıkaya Municipality with the support and efforts of the district governor of the period (currently the district governor of Gaziemir), Mr. Yaşar Dönmez, and the work is continued by the Yozgat Governorship. As the work continued, a great culture and the city that was the product of this culture emerged, and a thermal treatment center emerged within the city. Although there is information in various sources about the history of Sarıkaya district, there is no comprehensive scientific study. Considering that there are many mounds, tumuli and architectural ruins in the region, it is understood that the district has been used as a permanent settlement throughout history. It is known that the settlement located in Sarıkaya district center was called Aquae Sarvenae in the Roman period and Therma Basilica in the Byzantine period. In sources related to Christianity, Hz. It is stated that St. Peter, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus, passed through Therma Basilica on his journeys from Sebasteia (Sivas) to Mazakara (Kayseri) and from Mazakara to Tavium (Yozgat Büyüknefes Village). It is also stated that this is the settlement shown as Aqua Servenae between Tavium and Caeserea on the world map called “Tabula Peutingeriana”, originally dated to the 3rd and 4th centuries. Thermal springs found in many parts of our country were also used in Roman times, and thermal bath buildings were built on some of them. Sarıkaya Roman Bath is one of the few thermal baths from the Roman period in Anatolia. In this structure, the underground hot water source was used directly. According to the data obtained as a result of the excavations, hot water was used in some parts of the building to heat the spaces from the floor. Part of the building is still underground, and in 2014, the buildings blocking the front of the historical building were demolished and the large pool was revealed. The stone in the middle of the pool was used for baptism. It is understood that Sarıkaya Roman Bath was a thermal treatment center in ancient times. The frieze decorations at the top of the building include bull heads symbolizing power and snake figures symbolizing medicine and health in Greek mythology. According to the Kayseri city coin dating back to the Antoninus Pius period (AD 138-161) unearthed during the Roman bath excavations, the building was probably dated to AD. It is estimated that it was built in the middle of the 2nd century. In this case, it is possible to say that Sarıkaya Roman Bath is the oldest thermal treatment center in Anatolia. According to the statements of the officials who contributed to the excavations, there is a vast amount of history underground in the region. During the excavation carried out 1-2 kilometers away from the Roman baths, ruins of an amphitheater were found. Sarıkaya may have to restructure. There is also a legend about the founding of Sarıkaya. The legend about the hot springs known as the “Roman King’s Daughter Bath” is as follows: The daughter of the Roman Emperor of the period had an incurable disease and no cure could be found. The girl’s feet are paralyzed (that is, she has “rheumatism” as it is called today). At that time, Sarıkaya was a reed and swamp land. In regions where hot water is available, there is a muddy hot water source in the form of mud. The king gave up hope that his daughter would recover and released her in her last days. The girl also comes to this reedy swamp area. In its last days, it occasionally enters the mud here and wanders around the hot water source. Then, as the day goes by, the mud and hot water are good for the girl, allowing her legs to heal. Finally, the girl fully recovers and realizes that hot water is good for her. Following this incident, the king built a marble pool and a palace over the spring. Over time, settlement began around this pool and a city was established here. It is stated that in the following years the city was destroyed due to a severe earthquake and only the place where the baths were located has survived to the present day. Mavimore Turizm is a travel agency registered with TÜRSAB. Document number: A-8307