Afyon

Afyon is a mid-sized city only 160 miles from Ankara. It lies on the busy routes from Ankara to Izmir and from Ankara to the southwest Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The city is a big producer of marble with many cutting and finishing factories. The city is also a big producer of opium, which is used in the pharmaceutical industry.

The city’s past (like many other in Turkey) goes back thousands of years – settled by the Hittites, Phrygians, Lydians, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Selcuks, and Ottomans. Several 15th century Ottoman civic and religious buildings can be seen in town.

South of Afyon are seven big lakes that constitute the “Lake District” of Turkey. These lakes and several smaller ones attract many different types of migrating birds every year. The lakes, in the middle of the semi-arid Central Anatolia region, give a dream-like feeling to visitors. Some areas around the lakes were inhabited by the Hittites. Eflatunpinar, a Hittite monument composed of huge blocks made from rock that stands in a natural pool, is an interesting site to visit.

North of Afyon is the Phrygian Valley with sites such as Aslantas, Yilantas, and Maltas. Phrygian tombs, rock cut monuments, and sculptures in several different forms give clues of this great civilization. The Midas city of Yazilikaya has Phrygian inscriptions on the facade of an imaginary building carved on a cliff dating back to the 8th century B.C.

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