Aizanoi

Aizanoi's temple of Zeus was built in the second century CE and stands more completely than any other in Anatolia - much of the peristyle is up, with columns, architrave and pediment in place on a high podium, and underneath the cella is a vaulted crypt, unusual in a Greek-plan temple and generally connected with an older cult of Cybele on the same ground. The rest of the city is spread through and around the modern village: a stadium joined directly to a theatre in a single continuous structure, which is a combination found almost nowhere else, two bath complexes, a colonnaded street, Roman bridges still carrying traffic over the Penkalas river, and the macellum - a market building inscribed with Diocletian's price edict of 301, one of the most complete copies of that document known and a primary source for the economy of the late empire. Excavation continues and the site is on Turkey's UNESCO tentative list.

The main sights

• The Zeus temple - the standing peristyle on its podium.
• The vaulted crypt - the chamber under the cella.
• The stadium-theatre - the two joined in one structure.
• The price edict - Diocletian's decree cut into the macellum.

When to go

April to June and September to October. Mornings; the site is open with little shade and the plateau is hot in summer and cold in winter.

What to expect

The site is spread through a working village and parts are fenced for excavation. Signage is limited. A car is easier than the infrequent dolmuş, and there are few facilities in Çavdarhisar.

Nearby

Kütahya and its ceramic workshops are 50 km north; Afyonkarahisar is south-east.

Key facts