Cultural and Historical Texture: Afyonkarahisar
- Caner Çetin
- Sep 10, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 12
I have been in Afyonkarahisar between September 2nd and September 8th.
My trip consisted of both benefiting from thermal waters and getting to know Afyonkarahisar closely. In this process, I had a chance to observe the centre of the city, Gazlıgöl, and Ayazini districts and textures that consist of thermal water tourism.
I will be covering the following topics in the text:
I begin from Ayazini district and the ruins of the Phrygian civilisation, which one attracted my attention most.
Ayazini District and Phrygia
Ayazini is located in the north and about 30 minutes away from the centre of the city. Although some of the houses in the district are in good condition, the number of houses that are about to be demolished is not less and this number is especially higher in the villages that have not been brought to tourism. As far as I have learnt from the businesses in the region, the Governorate has invested in these regions and supported the businesses in order to bring the settlement to tourism.
Below are some historical buildings in the district: :
Ayazini Welcome and Recognition Centre
Church of Virgin Mary
Bayramaliler and Avdalaz Castles
Young Jesus and the Written Church
Ayazini Welcome and Recognition Centre
Before the entrance to Phrygia and the old buildings, there is an information centre about Phrygia and its famous leader King Midas. The centre is small in size and contains mostly interactive smart boards. These electronic devices present the legends of Midas and information about the god Cybele. There is also a well-preserved statue of Cybele.
The fact that all content is available in both English and Turkish makes it easier for tourists from different nations to recognise Frigaya.
Church of Virgin Mary
After passing the Welcome and Recognition Centre, the Church of Virgin Mary is on the left. It is estimated that the church was built between the 10th and 12th century. There are also columns inside the church, which was carved out of the ground. The church, which attracts attention especially with its sound acoustics, also has Christian religious motifs, including patterns of Turkish tribes.
Young Jesus and the Written Church
One of these two churches, located on the same road and very close to the area used as a cemetery in the past, is famous for its Christ figure and the other for its epigraph.
In the Church of the Young Christ, there is a slightly damaged Christ depicted with angels on both sides. In the Written Church, there is a Greek text on the left side, but it is thought that this text was written by a Greek soldier in the 20th century.
Gazlıgöl District and Differences from Ayazini
Gazlıgöl district is closer to the centre of Afyonkarahisar than Ayazini and is a more developed place. It owes its development and multi-storey apartment building structure to thermal tourism. There are thermal hotels on all four sides of the city and welcome guests, but the activities that tourists can do in the district are very limited. The plus side of the town is that there are many shops selling Turkish delight, confectionery and Turkish style fermented sausage.
Although there is no historical area to visit in Gazlıgöl, narrow roads and dense population have suffocated the city. In Ayazini, traffic seems to be relatively more controlled. The biggest difference between the two districts is that while there are more places selling breakfast products (such as pancakes, toast) in Ayazini, it is easier to find restaurants that cater to lunch and dinner in Gazlıgöl.
Museums in the City Centre
There is more than one museum in the centre of Afyonkarahisar. The largest of these is the Afyonkarahisar Archaeological Museum, which continues to live with a new building in 2023. There is also the Sucuk Museum, built by a company and offered free of charge, and Afyonkarahisar Castle located in the centre of the city.
Another one of the other museums is known as the Culture and Art House, in which both the past Turkish household structure and the food culture elements specific to Afyonkarahisar are exhibited.
Afyonkarahisar Arkheology Museum
The Archaeological Museum, located a few kilometres to the west of the city centre, was opened last year and is a large five-storey museum, which was formed by moving the finds previously exhibited in the centre to this new area.
Starting from the bottom floor of the museum, bronze or copper materials from the first settlements are exhibited and towards the upper floors, items belonging to different nations are exhibited.
On the top floor, there are contents related to the War of Independence, while it is possible to see the structures and materials belonging to the Ottoman, Byzantine, Roman and Phrygian respectively towards the lower floors.
The museum has successfully represented and preserved the rich structure and historical texture of Afyonkarahisar.
Culture and Art House
The Culture House is located in the centre and near the famous Afyonkarahisar Castle. In it, both old Turkish house architecture and dishes specific to Afyonkarahisar are exhibited.
In this direction, while the lower floor contains local delicacies such as Keşkek, Turkish delight, ravioli, sausage, the upper floor exhibits clothes, dowries, kitchen equipment and handicrafts in the Turkish traditions.
The fact that some of the dowries exhibited have been donated to the Museum by some names shows that the city and its people protect the historical texture and the past.
Afyonkarahisar Castle
The castle belongs to the Hittite period and can be seen from all sides of the city. Its height is approximately 230 metres.
For now, the only way to climb the castle is the stairs and the construction of the cable car is in progress.
Sausage Museum
In the museum created by Cumhuriyet Sucukları, the historical development of sausage and the production and consumption of sausage dating back to Central Asia are explained. In this museum, the terms related to meat are first mentioned in Dîvânu Lugâti't-Türk.
In the same museum, there are artefacts with rich content such as sausage cutting machines and the status of butchers in the Ottoman Empire. A distinctive part of the museum is the ceramic figures of Superman, the Statue of Liberty, a cow creatively combined with oven and kitchen elements.
Mood and Behaviour of People in Provinces and Districts
It is possible to find people from all classes in Afyonkarahisar. There are significant differences between Ayazini, Gazlıgöl and the city centre. These are
The villagers living in Ayazini live either by agriculture or tourism. Those who live by agriculture state that they have great problems in terms of financial gain. On the other hand, those who live on tourism sometimes inflate prices in order to make a profit. Again, a big difference between these two parties is that those who are interested in agriculture are not aware of the costs of their products. Moreover, it is sad to learn from agricultural workers that the state does not provide enough support.
Gazlıgöl region owes most of its earnings to thermal water services and hotels. It is a fact that these hotels upset the whole structure. Probably, with the increasing thermal tourism, urban transformation was required for the city, but this could not be done and was replaced by unplanned urbanisation. In addition, the lack of necessary places and facilities for incoming tourists also makes this region disadvantageous. Although the people working in the thermal services are trying to be polite, most of the people in the district have secretive facial expressions and unhappiness. Probably the district was sacrificed for tourism.
The city centre is well developed. Museums, relatively planned urbanisation and job opportunities are located in the centre. The staff in the shopping centres are friendly, but it is also possible to see people from the upper classes among the customers. On the street, some people are reserved, but it is also possible to see people with secretive faces.
Food Prices and Culture in Provinces and Districts
When it comes to Afyon, the first thing that comes to mind is sausage and poppy. I can easily say that the sausage culture continues in the centre and in Gazlıgöl, but it is not very common in Ayazini.
Although sausage prices vary to appeal to every budget, the number of places selling sausage bread for fifty liras is not small. This means that the city protects the existing sausage culture, continues production and keeps the historical texture alive.
Apart from sausage bread, restaurant prices are also the most expensive in the centre. There were restaurants where the price of rice with doner was around 250 liras. It can be said that these prices are exorbitant prices. Prices in Gazlıgöl and Ayazini are relatively lower. Especially the tourism-oriented organisations in Ayazini sell at exorbitant prices, while in Gazlıgöl it is possible to see exorbitant prices only in the Municipality Social Facility.
It is easy to find affordable artisan restaurants and sausage bread in Gazlıgöl.
P.S. This text was translated from Turkish text directly with DeepL, whose translation is supported by AI.
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