Turkish Republic, from Amasya, the Congress of Sivas is considered a turning point in the formation of the Turkish Republic. It was at this congress that Atatürk's position as chair of the executive committee of the national resistance was confirmed (see Turkish War of Independence). Sivas was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 500 lira banknote of 1927–1939. On 2 July 1993, 37 participants in an Alevi cultural and literary festival were killed when a mob of demonstrators set fire to the Madımak hotel in Sivas during a violent protest by some 15,000 members of various radical Islamist groups against the presence of Aziz Nesin. The deaths resulted in the Turkish government taking a harder stance against religious fanaticism, militant Islam, and antisecularism. In late 2006, there was a campaign by the Pir Sultan Abdal Cultural Institute to convert the former hotel into a museum to commemorate the tragedy, now known as the Sivas massacre. Climate Sivas has a continental climate (Köppen: Dsb, Trewartha: Dc), with warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. The driest months are July and August and the wettest are April and May. Economy Historically, Sivas was known for producing cereal. Sights A cultural hub as well as an industrial one, Sivas contains many examples of 12th and 13th-century Seljuk architecture. The Great Mosque (Ulu Cami) of Sivas was first built in 1197. The Sifaiye Medresesi was completed in 1217–1218 and served as a darüşşifa (hospital and medical school). It has a four-iwan layout typical of Seljuk madrasas and is fronted by an elaborately-carved entrance portal. It also contains the tomb of its founder, the Seljuk sultan Izz al-Din Kayka'us I (d. 1220). In 1271–1272, when the city was under Ilkhanid influence, three different madrasas were built by competing patrons: the Buruciye Medrese, the Çifte Minare Medresesi, and the Gök Medrese ("Blue Madrasa"; depicted on the obverse of the Turkish 500 lira banknote of 1927–1939). All three have elaborate entrance portals. The city also contains some fine examples of the Ottoman architectural style. The most prominent example of Ottoman architecture in the city is the Kale Camii ("Citadel Mosque"), built in 1580 by Mehmet Pasha, an Ottoman vizier. Kurşunlu Hamamı ("Leaden Bath") which was completed in 1576, is the largest historic bathhouse in the city and it contains many details from the classical Ottoman bath building. Behrampaşa Hanı (a caravanserai), was completed in 1573 and