Aizanoi Archaeological Site

Aizanoi stands in the district of Çavdarhisar, about fifty kilometres from the city of Kütahya, in the upper valley of the Penkalas stream. Its name may come from Azan, a mythical hero said to be the son of the nymph Erato and King Arkas. Settlement traces go back to the 3rd millennium BC, and the city belonged to ancient Phrygia. It passed to Rome in 133 BC and was at its height between about AD 50 and 250, wealthy from grain, wine and wool.

The ancient city gained the honour of Neokoros, temple-guardian city, with privileges such as tax exemption. In the early Byzantine period it was a bishopric, then lost importance from the 7th century. Later the temple platform was turned into a fortress, and Seljuk-era Çavdar Tatars used it as a base, which gave Çavdarhisar its name. Western travellers rediscovered the site in 1824, and the German Archaeological Institute dug here from 1926, with Pamukkale University taking over from 2011.

The star of the site is the Temple of Zeus, with its rare double-chambered plan, on a high terrace. Nearby lies what is said to be the world's only unified theatre and stadium complex, with room for about 15,000 spectators in each part. You will also see colonnaded streets, agoras, a dam and waterworks, an odeon and city gates, showing how developed the city was.