03 · City guide
Afyonkarahisar
Castle, kaymak and the Phrygian Valley
Afyonkarahisar takes its name from the castle atop the black volcanic rock that rises in the middle of the city. At the foot of the castle, the Seljuk-era Ulu Mosque (Grand Mosque) with its wooden columns, the Mevlevihane (Mevlevi lodge) and old houses with bay windows form the historic townscape. To the north, Ayazini, Aslantaş and Aslankaya mark the start of the rock monuments of the Phrygian Valley and the Phrygian Way hiking route; to the south, Kocatepe and the Başkomutan Historical National Park bear the traces of the Great Offensive of August 1922. Thermal springs such as Gazlıgöl, Hüdai and Ömer-Gecek make the province one of Türkiye's leading hot-spring centers. Lakes Eber, Karamık and Acıgöl and Seljuk caravanserais are stops along the Konya road, while kaymak (clotted cream), sucuk and lokum are the symbols of the Afyon table.
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Places
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Where shall we explore?
Machine translated — This content was machine-translated and may differ from the original Turkish text.Nature park
26 Ağustos Nature Park
Sinanpaşa, Afyonkarahisar
A 65-hectare nature park with picnic and play areas, whose observation tower overlooks the hills of the Great Offensive.
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Tomb (türbe)
Tomb of Abdurrahman Sultan
Başmakçı, Afyonkarahisar
The tomb in Başmakçı of Abdurrahman Sultan, said to have been a disciple of Abdülkadir Geylani.
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Acıgöl
Dazkırı, Afyonkarahisar
A shallow, salty tectonic lake in the closed basin where Denizli, Afyonkarahisar and Burdur meet; a protected wetland.
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Adeyze Mosque
Merkez, Afyonkarahisar
A late Ottoman neighborhood mosque in Hacı Aftal, commissioned by Hacı Mustafa Ağa in 1911.
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Afyonkarahisar Castle
Merkez, Afyonkarahisar
The castle on a volcanic rock rising 226 m in the middle of the city; used from the Hittites to the Ottomans, it gave the city its name.
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Afyonkarahisar Museum
Merkez, Afyonkarahisar
The provincial museum, founded in 1933 and moved to its new building in 2023; rich in works from the Paleolithic to Byzantium and Kusura idols.
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Afyonkarahisar Ulu Mosque (Grand Mosque)
Merkez, Afyonkarahisar
A wooden-columned Seljuk mosque built between 1272 and 1277; UNESCO World Heritage since 2023.
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Bridge
Altıgöz Bridge
Merkez, Afyonkarahisar
A six-arched Seljuk stone bridge over the Akarçay, given its present form by a restoration in 1237.
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Amorium Ancient City
Emirdağ, Afyonkarahisar
A Phrygian city that flourished on Byzantium's military road and declined after the Arab sack of 838; excavations continue at Hisarköy.
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Apameia Kibotos (Kelainai) Ancient City
Dinar, Afyonkarahisar
Apameia, built over the Persian satrapal center of Kelainai, one of the region's largest cities after Ephesus.
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Aslankaya Temple
İhsaniye, Afyonkarahisar
A Phrygian rock façade with a triangular pediment and sphinx and lion reliefs, near Emre Gölü.
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Aslantaş and Yılantaş Rock Tombs
İhsaniye, Afyonkarahisar
Phrygian rock tombs comprising Aslantaş, with giant lion reliefs on its façade, and the toppled Yılantaş.
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Ayazini Rock Settlement
İhsaniye, Afyonkarahisar
A historic village in the Afyon section of the Phrygian Valley, full of rock-carved houses, churches and burial chambers.
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Ayazini Metropolis Church
İhsaniye, Afyonkarahisar
The symbol of Ayazini: a domed Byzantine church carved into tuff rock.
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Başkomutan Historical National Park
Sinanpaşa, Afyonkarahisar
A historical national park declared in 1981 to protect the sites of the last great battles of the War of Independence.
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Museum
Bolvadin Museum (Yanık Kışla)
Bolvadin, Afyonkarahisar
A municipal museum in the historic "Yanık Kışla" building, displaying archaeological and ethnographic items together.
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Great Offensive Martyrs' Cemetery
Sinanpaşa, Afyonkarahisar
A monumental martyrs' cemetery with symbolic gravestones, built in memory of the 275 officers and 2150 soldiers who fell in the Great Offensive.
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Büyük Utku (Victory) Monument
Merkez, Afyonkarahisar
Bronze monument made by Heinrich Krippel in 1934-1936, symbolizing the Great Offensive and the city's liberation.
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Çay Han (Taşhan)
Çay, Afyonkarahisar
A Seljuk caravanserai on the Konya road, commissioned in 1278 by the same patron as the Taş Medrese.
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Çay Taş Medrese
Çay, Afyonkarahisar
A domed Seljuk madrasa with tile mosaics, commissioned by Yusuf bin Yakup in 1278-79; used as a mosque today.
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Martyrs' memorial and battlefield
Çiğiltepe Martyrs' Memorial
Sinanpaşa, Afyonkarahisar
Martyrs' memorial and monument to Colonel Reşat Bey, who took his own life when he could not take Çiğiltepe within the time he had promised during the Great Offensive.
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Nature park
Dinar Pınarlı Nature Park
Dinar, Afyonkarahisar
A 239-hectare nature park 8 km from Dinar, known for the Pınarlı spring flowing through Turkish red pine and black pine forests.
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Döğer Caravanserai
İhsaniye, Afyonkarahisar
An Ottoman caravanserai in the town of Döğer at the entrance to the Phrygian Valley.
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Archaeological site
Dokimeion Ancient City and Marble Quarries
İscehisar, Afyonkarahisar
Ancient quarries and city where the purple-veined "pavonazzetto," one of Rome's most valuable marbles, was extracted.
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Eber Gölü (Lake Eber)
Bolvadin, Afyonkarahisar
One of Türkiye's large lakes; a freshwater lake surrounding the southwest of Bolvadin, known for its reed beds and birdlife.
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Emre Gölü (Lake Emre)
İhsaniye, Afyonkarahisar
A small lake near Döğer, ringed by tuff rocks resembling fairy chimneys.
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Nature park
Erkmen Nature Park
Merkez, Afyonkarahisar
A 51.7-hectare day-use nature park on the hills south of Erkmen, known for its chestnut stands.
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Phrygian Valley Nature Park
İhsaniye, Afyonkarahisar
A nature park in the Akdere area of Bayramaliler village, offering a break on Phrygian Valley tours amid black pine forest and tuff fairy chimneys.
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Phrygian Way (Seydiler trailhead)
İscehisar, Afyonkarahisar
A 506 km marked hiking and cycling route starting from Seydiler and linking the Phrygian monuments.
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Gazlıgöl Hot Springs and Mineral Water
İhsaniye, Afyonkarahisar
A thermal town 25 km from the provincial center, known for its baths and Türkiye's oldest mineral water, bottled since 1868.
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Gedik Ahmed Paşa (İmaret) Mosque
Merkez, Afyonkarahisar
The mosque at the center of the large-courtyard complex commissioned by Gedik Ahmed Paşa, vizier of Mehmed the Conqueror.
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Hammam (Turkish bath)
Gedik Ahmed Paşa (İmaret) Hammam
Merkez, Afyonkarahisar
The 15th-century double hammam of the Gedik Ahmed Paşa Complex, still used for bathing today.
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Hot spring
Hüdai Hot Springs
Sandıklı, Afyonkarahisar
A thermal spring area in Sandıklı known for its 42-53 °C water and mud baths.
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Church
İbrahim İnleri Rock Church (Selimiye)
İscehisar, Afyonkarahisar
A three-nave Byzantine rock church with painted reliefs near Selimiye, dating to the 10th-11th century.
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History and archaeology
Ipsus Battlefield
Merkez, Afyonkarahisar
The ancient Phrygian town where the decisive Battle of Ipsus between the successors of Alexander the Great took place in 301 BC.
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İshaklı (Sahip Ata) Caravanserai
Sultandağı, Afyonkarahisar
A Seljuk caravanserai on the Afyon-Konya road, commissioned in 1249 by the vizier Sahip Ata Fahreddin Ali.
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Karamık Gölü (Lake Karamık)
Çay, Afyonkarahisar
A shallow, reed-fringed lake at 1001 m elevation that sends its waters underground to Eğirdir Gölü.
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Kırkgöz Bridge
Bolvadin, Afyonkarahisar
A long stone bridge over the Akarçay, built in 1150 by Byzantine Emperor Manuel I, with 57 arches today.
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Kocatepe Atatürk Monument
Merkez, Afyonkarahisar
The bronze Atatürk monument on 1874 m Kocatepe, from where the Great Offensive was directed on August 26, 1922.
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Kusura Mound (Höyük)
Sandıklı, Afyonkarahisar
The mound that gave its name to the schematic "Kusura-type" idols of the Early Bronze Age.
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Mosque
Sandıklı Ulu Mosque (Grand Mosque)
Sandıklı, Afyonkarahisar
A historic mosque built by the architect Aydemir in 1379, during the Germiyanid period.
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Reservoir and pond
Selevir Dam Lake
Şuhut, Afyonkarahisar
A dam lake of about 5 km² built on the Kali Çayı near Şuhut in 1960-1964.
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Reservoir and pond
Seyitler Dam Lake
Merkez, Afyonkarahisar
An irrigation dam lake of about 4.9 km² built on the Seyitler Çayı east of Afyonkarahisar in 1960-1964.
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Suçıkan Park
Dinar, Afyonkarahisar
A karst spring gushing from the foot of the rocks in Dinar, with a recreation area around it.
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Şuhut Atatürk House (Great Offensive Headquarters)
Şuhut, Afyonkarahisar
The historic house Atatürk used as temporary headquarters just before the Great Offensive; a museum since 2004.
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Mosque
Şuhut Ulu Mosque (Grand Mosque)
Şuhut, Afyonkarahisar
A historic mosque commissioned by Sarı Demirtaş Paşaoğlu Hamza Bey, also known as Çarşı (Bazaar) Mosque.
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Sultan Dîvânî Mevlevîhâne Museum
Merkez, Afyonkarahisar
A museum in the dervish lodge founded by Ulu Ârif Çelebi in 1316, which became one of the important centers of the Mevlevi order.
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Nature park
Sultandağı Nature Park
Sultandağı, Afyonkarahisar
A 97-hectare nature park at the foot of the Sultan Mountains, in the Kurtini area between the Sultandağı district center and Kırca neighborhood.
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Synnada Ancient City
Şuhut, Afyonkarahisar
A Phrygia Salutaris city beneath today's Şuhut, famed for trading Dokimeion marble.
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Historic Afyon Houses (Castle Foothills)
Merkez, Afyonkarahisar
Traditional Afyon houses with bay windows and projecting wooden upper floors, lining the narrow streets at the foot of the castle.
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Taş Medrese (Gedik Ahmed Paşa Madrasa)
Merkez, Afyonkarahisar
An Ottoman madrasa, part of the Gedik Ahmed Paşa Complex, popularly called Taş Medrese (Stone Madrasa).
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Taşhan (Hoca Üveys Han)
Merkez, Afyonkarahisar
An Ottoman-era stone han in the historic bazaar district of the city center.
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Nature park
Yedikapı Nature Park (Kemerkaya)
Bolvadin, Afyonkarahisar
A 216-hectare picnic-oriented nature park on the oak-covered slopes by Yedikapı Dam, near Kemerkaya village.
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Zafer (Victory) Museum
Merkez, Afyonkarahisar
The building that served as Mustafa Kemal Paşa's headquarters after the Great Offensive, where the plans for the Battle of the Commander-in-Chief were made.
Practical information
Machine translated — This content was machine-translated and may differ from the original Turkish text.- Climate
- Continental; hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters
- Best season
- April–June and September–October; the thermal springs in any season
- Museum pass
- Müzekart (Museum Pass) is valid at the Afyonkarahisar Museum and Ministry-run archaeological sites
- Getting there
- Zafer Airport (on the Kütahya border, ~55 km from the city); a junction of the Ankara, İzmir, Antalya and Konya roads; rail lines toward İzmir and Konya
- Commemoration day
- A commemoration ceremony for the Great Offensive is held at Kocatepe on the morning of August 26