(catch-up Post)
Friday, 12 October
It was a photograph not unlike the one to the right (sans the fog) that first tickled my fancy and made me look up Aizanoi on the internet.
When I realized that the photo was of the Temple of Zeus, located in an ancient Phrygian city on the outskirts of Kütahya, I figured it would make an easy day trip for mom and me.
misty morning at a mystical temple.
Turns out, it took a bit of work to find a way to get there. You see, there are no tours going to Aizanoi this time of the year. I looked at public busses to get us there, but no one could confirm availability of taxis once we got to Çavdarhisar, the town nearest to the ruins. I suppose I could have rented a car, but unfamiliar with the roads, it wasn’t something I wanted to undertake.
Then I remembered the business card the taxi driver who took us to the citadel (post here) gave me. I dialed the number, which was promptly answered by the driver. I had caught him driving a client back from a day-trip to İstanbul, and he asked if he could call me back. I appreciated his concern for safety and said of course, but wondered if I would hear back from him after I hung up. My concerns were for naught. He called within 30 minutes and I negotiated a price that seemed fair to me.
A comfortable, well-maintained cab for our drive to and from Aizanoi.
The logistics out of the way, let me now get on with our day.
Waking up to a pale sunrise, I was excited to see that we would have a nice day for our trip to the ruins. Not so fast. Thirty minutes later, a thick fog blanketed the city.
From clear to thick fog in 30 minutes.
Keeping fingers crossed that the fog would lift by the time the cab came by to pick us up at 9:00a, we headed to the Simit Sarayı for breakfast.

The poster promoting Sİmİt Sarayi proclaims that “the world is going to taste Sİmİt.”
Our cabbie was prompt and by 9:30a we were heading to the ruins of Aizanoi, which are scattered about in multiple sites near Çavdarhisar. Ten minutes into the ride, the thick fog lifted, giving us clear views of the landscape. It was disheartening when the fog settled back over everything in short order. Not because the scenery was spectacular — it wasn’t … in fact, it was boring. But because I was worried the ruins might be veiled as well. And so they were … for the first 30 minutes that we were there.

the ruins of Aizanoi are Approximately 37 miles (60 km) from the city of Kütahya.
[click for larger, more legible image]
Showing the guard my MüzeKart (museum card), we gained free entrance to the site. Our arrival coincided with that of a group of students from the School of Tourism, who immediately headed over to the focal point of the ruins — the temple. So, we headed in the opposite direction to check out the excavated artifacts that were displayed in a fenced in area. By the time we were ready to explore the temple, they were moving on. Thus, leaving the site for Mom and I to enjoy entirely on our own.

A Phrygian city originally, Aizanoi changed hands several times before ending up as part of the Roman Empire in 133 BC. It is believed that the name comes from a mythical hero named Azan, who was one of the sons of King Arkas and the nymph, Erato. Though artifacts from the earlier cultures have been found, the major finds date back to the Roman period. Rediscovery of the site by European travelers in 1824 led to the first excavations in the 1830s-40s, and again in the 1920s. The work ongoing today began in 1970.

The Temple of Zeus was built over earlier ruins of Aizanoi.
It is said to be one of the best preserved temples dedicated to Zeus.

The Temple of Zeus looks much better once the veil of fog is lifted.
According to historians, the funds to build the fortress were raised by renting out fields.
Emperor Hadrian was instrumental in recovering unpaid rents for construction to proceed.

The underground chamber is believed to have been a staging area for
ceremonies dedicated to the Goddess Cybele.
From this site, we drove a short distance across the road to the stadium-cum-theater, a structure that is considered unique to Aizanoi. Studies have found that the ruins date back to the second and third century AD. Constructed adjacent to each other, the stadium had a capacity of 13,500 and the theater could accommodate 20,000 people.

Mom provides perspective for the doors leading to the center stage of the theater.
one side of the theater seating is in shambles; the other side has held up well and been restored.

Looking back towards the stadium from the theater.
Before leaving the complex, we made a brief stop to wander around the Roman baths nearby. There wasn’t much to see at these ruins, which date back to the second century AD. A couple of photos, and we were on to a more distant part of the Aizanoi ruins.

Not much to see at the Roman baths …

… except for a distant and hazy view of the Temple of Zeus.
The final section we visited was a bit of a ways from the temple area, but turned out to be well worth the drive. Here we found the first stock exchange, which dates back to AD 301. These ruins were found when a mosque that was built over them collapsed in the 1970 earthquake that hit Gediz. Excavations uncovered an inscribed copy of the Price Edict of Diocletian, which was an “… attempt to limit inflation resulting from debasement of the coinage” of that period by putting standards in place for the purchase and sale of items. For example, a 16-40 year old male slave in good health was deemed equal to two donkeys or 30,000 dinars.

The round building (Macellum) with the Colonnaded Street in the background.

Restored in 1971, the walls of the Macellum were found to be inscribed with Emperor
Diocletian’s price edict on goods bought and sold in the markets of the empire.

Well-preserved artifacts of a stoa bordering a colonnaded street were excavated between 1993-1995,
and with the inclusion of some modern marble pieces, part of a stoa was reconstructed.

Glimpse of the village mosque from the 5th Century AD colonnaded street.
The ruins of Aizanoi are not the first ones that I’ve visited in Turkey. I’ve seen far more elaborate sites of antiquity around the country, not the least of which is Ephesus (post here). Regardless, I enjoyed this trip to a site rarely-visited by tourists — foreign or domestic. Hopefully funds will continue to be available for ongoing excavation and restoration of artifacts.
On that note, we began the drive back to the city. En route, I asked our driver to take us by Çinili Camii (Tiled Mosque), which I was under the impression was an older mosque. Turns out the octagonal mosque was built in 1973, and therefore, was relatively new. The exterior was under renovation, but seeing as how we were there anyway, I stepped out to take a few photos before we continued on.
No matter what angle I tried, I just couldn’t get a good one for the exterior of the mosque;
I did better with the interior, but stayed just inside the door so as not to
disturb the sole occupant who was deep in prayer.
Rather than have the driver return us to the hotel, we asked him to take us to the taxi stand in Dönenler Meydanı (Square of the Whirlers [in reference to the Whirling Dervishes]). As it was after 1:00p, our goal was to find a place to have lunch. We tried one restaurant that looked promising, but the menu wasn’t what we had in mind. So, we came up with an alternate plan.

Passing by the city's iconic Çİnİlİ Vazo (tiled urn) fountain, I can’t resist a shutter click.

Detail from the flowering cabbage decorating the perimeter of the fountain.
In the end, we walked back to the hotel via Sevgi Yolu (Love Lane) and had lunch at Karavan, where we’ve been eating dinner since arriving in the city two days ago. Good, home-style cooking; reasonable prices … why mess with a good thing. The chef recognized us when we approached the display case to make our selections — sautéed eggplant and squash for me; chicken for mom; and a plate each of rice and thick, creamy yogurt to share. When the chef showed up with a complimentary plate of tel kadayıf (a popular Turkish dessert made with shredded phyllo dough), we were too full to eat it then and there, but did take it back to the hotel with us to enjoy later in the afternoon when we were having tea in mom’s room.

When I mentioned to the chef that I plan to blog about our many meals at
his establishment, he kindly posed for me …

… and later treated us to a plate of Tel Kadayif,
garnished with grated fresh pistachio and walnut halves.
And so mom and I wrapped up a short, but interesting visit to Kütahya — a city that surprised us in many ways. I’m glad mom suggested it as the destination for this year’s side trip.
Now to pack up and move on to the second half of our trip … another bus ride is in order for this one.