In a quiet village, the columns of a Roman temple stand almost complete, still carrying their beams. Beneath them, steps lead down into a cool vaulted chamber under the temple floor.

The city

Aizanoi was an ancient Greek city on both sides of the Penkalas river, at the modern village of Çavdarhisar near Kütahya, about 1,000 m above sea level. It changed hands between Pergamum and Bithynia before being bequeathed to Rome in 133 BC. It was an important political and economic centre in Roman times, and its bishop attended the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 2012 it was submitted for the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Temple of Zeus

The Temple of Zeus, built between 117 and 138 AD, is the best preserved of its kind in Anatolia. A stairway leads into the underground vaulted chamber, dedicated to the Phrygian goddess Meter Steunene, where stelae are displayed. On the outside walls look for simple carvings of horse riders, left by the Çavdar Tatars who used the temple as a base in the 13th century.

More ruins

A theatre and stadium were built side by side in the 3rd century, a combination unique in the world. A round market building is inscribed with a copy of Diocletian's Price Edict. There are Roman baths, one with a mosaic floor, and a Roman bridge across the river. Dolmuşes from Kütahya bus station take about an hour.

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  Temple of Zeus Best preserved in Anatolia.
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  Underground vault Under the temple.
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  Theatre-stadium Side by side.
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  Macellum Diocletian's price list.