Yahyasaray (Sırıklı) Plateau

Yahyasaray (Sırıklı) Plateau lies within the boundaries of Yahyasaray village, part of Yozgat's Çayıralan district, at an elevation of 1220 meters on the Akdağ mountain range. Made up of four separate obas (traditional seasonal highland settlement units), the plateau is entirely forested and home to various game animals. Following a practice their community has maintained for centuries, the villagers of Yahyasaray bring their livestock up to this plateau each summer to graze, returning to their village at the end of the season. Situated above 1200 meters on the Akdağ range, Yahyasaray Plateau — thanks to its cool summer climate and rich forest cover — represents one of the still-living examples of Yozgat's traditional transhumant highland pastoral culture. Like the nearby Hisarbeyli, Kadıpınarı, and Şebekpınarı plateaus, Yahyasaray is one of the smaller-scale highland communities found along the foothills of Akdağ within the wider Bozok Plateau region; its structure of four distinct obas shows that highland pastoralism here still retains its family- or clan-based organization. For visitors interested in hiking and highland tourism, it offers a gateway into the rural, mountainous interior of Çayıralan district.