KUTAHYA
Kutahya is a small province in the midst of hill country in
Turkey, clustering about the
walls of an impressive hilltop fortress. It is the hometown of the world famous Yagcibedir Carpets, and Kutahya tiles which you can see everywhere in the
country. But the best and the cheapest are in Kutahya, where you may visit the
workshops our factory outlets and see these tiles produced with designs from the 16th and 17th
centuries. They are especially famous for their cobalt blue on a milky white
background.
The old wood and stucco houses of Kutahya are picturesque. The Hungarian House
(Kossouth Museum) and those on the Germian Street are the most interesting ones.
Kutahya is also a thermal springs center with Harlek - ilica, Muratdagi - Gediz and
Eynal - Simav, among the most famous.
At Murat Mountain there are camping facilities including hot springs in the
midst of a delightful scenery.
To the southwest of Kutahya an ancient city awaits you for an eccentric
archaeological excursion, Cavdarhisar (Aizanoi) has one of the best preserved
Roman temples in Anatolia; the Temple of
Zeus. Dating back to the time of
Hadrian, it was built for the worship of Zeus and also the
Anatolian fertility
goddess Kybele. Not to miss also a beautiful Roman stadium and a theater at a
short walk from this temple. A Byzantine fortress, the Seljuk Hidirlik
Mosque,
Balikli Bath, the Ottoman Bedesten, Saadettin
Mosque, Sengul Bath are just some
of the important historical Islamic remains in Kutahya.
And there is a beautiful museum full of findings from Aizanoi
as well.
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AIZANOI
This city is in the Çavdarhisar town, 57 kilometers from
.Kütahya's city
center. The city experienced its golden age in the second and third centuries
A.D. and became the center of episcopacy in the Byzantine era. The city has a
temple built for Zeus which is the best-preserved temple in all of
Anatolia.
There is also a large theater and a stadium adjacent to theater. There are two
Turkish-style baths, one of them decorated with mosaics, plus a gymnasium, five
bridges on Kocaçay river which are still used today, an old dam, a trading building,
avenues with columns on both sides, necropolis (cemetary) areas and the sacred cave of
Meter Steunene. The German Institute is still carrying out excavations in the
city.
At the upper part of the Penkalas (Kocaçay) River, there were
Phrygians who
lived around the sacred cave of the goddess Meter Steunene, who was the born
through the union of the water nymph Erato and the mythological hero Azan. The
city Aizanoi might have taken its name from Azan. Aizanoi was the main
settlement of the Aizanitisians, who lived under the rule of the ancient
Phrygians.
Recent excavations done around the Temple of Zeus built on the high plateau of
the city revealed several levels of settlements dating from as far back as 3000
B.C. In the Hellenistic era, this region was ruled by, alternately,
Pergamon and
Bithynia, and in 133 B.C. it entered the dominion of the Roman Empire. Aizanoi
printed its first coins in the second and first centuries. During the days of
the Roman Empire, the town became rich from its production of grains, wine and
wool. By the end of the first century, the town had started to turn into a city.
It was the center of the episcopacy in the early Byzantine period but it lost
its influence in the 7th century. During the time of the Seljuk
Principality, Çavdar Tatars used this area as a military base in the 13th
century. This is why this area was called Çavdarhisar ("hisar" means city
walls in Turkish).
Aizanoi was rediscovered by European travelers in 1824 and studied in the 1830s
and '40s. In 1926, M. Schede and D. Krecker started excavations under the
auspices of the German Archaeology Institute. In 1970, R. Naumann began these
studies anew, and they have continued to the present day.
Most of the structural remains that have come down to our day from Aizanoi that
are located on both sides of the Kocaçay River (Penkalas) were built during the
Roman era. On both banks of the river, there were protective walls made out of
large cut stones to protect the city against the rising waters of the Kocaçay,
waters which still rise today. Two out of the four bridges on the river are
still in use today. The low wooden bridge on the north was used as a pedestrian
crossing.
The stone bridge with five arches that follows this wooden one is still in good
shape. There is another one with three arches which has fallen into ruins. This
one is followed by the city's main bridge, which today supports all of the
traffic with its five arches.
The inscriptions on the pedestal of the bridge's railing tells us that the
opening ceremony of the bridge took place in September 157 A.D. The inscription
and two relief-decorated railings are today displayed in front of the fourth
bridge. The relief shows the sea voyage of M. Apuleius Eurycles, who financed
the bridge's construction. Eurycles represented Aizanoi in Athens from 153 to
157 A.D. in the Hellenic Union called Panhellion which was established by the
Roman Emperor Hadrian. Eurycles returned to Aizanoi in the fall of 157 A.D. In
1990, the bridge was fortified with new railings.
The Temple of Zeus
The Temple of Zeus was the first of the magnificent structures built in Aizanoi's new city center on the west bank of the Penkalas river (today's
Kocaçay).
Recent excavations have shown that layers of remains from the early years of the
area were displaced to build the Temple of Zeus. Ceramic pieces dated to the
Early Bronze Age were found at the level of the temple courtyard. The rubble
from the removed layers was used to the fill temple area. The construction of
the temple began in the second quarter of the second century. The money needed
for the temple's construction was met by renting out large temple fields.
However, the people who rented these fields resisted paying any money for many
years. The construction started only when the rents were paid under the
instruction of Emperor Hadrian. The correspondence between the city and the
emperor on this subject was so important for Aizanoi that it rests in the
northern side of the pronaos (front gallery) of the temple. On the outside of
the same wall, there are long inscriptions. This inscription talks about M.
Apuleius Eurycles, whom we know from the bridge inscription. The inscription
praises Eurycles' virtues and his contributions to the city.
On the cut stones of the temple, there are war scenes, horsemen and horses.
These drawings depict scenes from the lives of Çavdars, who were looking for
shelter in the city walls surrounding the temple in the 13th century. In the
peristasis, there are eight Ionic columns on the short and 15 on the long sides.
The distance between the interior structures of the temple (pronaos, cella and
opisthodomos) is twice as large as the distance between the columns. Therefore
this is a temple based on a pseudodipteros plan. The temple is built on a podium
with the dimensions 53 meters by 35 meters and the base is covered with vaults,
the combination of which makes for an unusual model in Roman architecture in
Anatolia; no similar example has been found. It is believed that the underground
chamber under this whole area covered with cella, opisthodomos and pronaos was
the staging ground for ceremonies in the cult of the Anatolian goddess
Cybele,
who was worshipped under the name Meter Steunene in Aizanoai. On the northwest
pediment of the temple, on the middle acroter, there is a portrait-sculpture of
a woman. This demonstrates that the temple was also devoted to the
Phrygian
goddess Cybele. However, recent research shows that the temple cannot have been
devoted to both Zeus and
Cybele. This underground place is thought to be a
prophecy center or the storage room of the temple. The acroter in the shape of a
woman's head has now been placed near other discovered pieces.
Other ruins of Aizanoi
A heroon that was considered a small temple in that time and an agora
surrounded by galleries were built in the middle of the second century A.D. The
area is surrounded by a gallery of Doric columns which were built before the
gallery that circles the temple. Most of these magnificent structures came to be
under village houses and schools, and very few of them are visible any longer.
Right next to the road that passes from the southeastern side of the temple's
flat area, there is a heart-shaped column of the agora. The courtyard with Doric
columns is covered with horizontal columns of Middle Age city walls, and
architectural pieces of other ancient structures. The northern corner of this
courtyard was excavated in 1997. The eastern corner of the courtyard with Doric
columns and the rest of the places in the courtyard were excavated in 1981-82.
You can see the remains of a flight of stairs on the southwest wall of the
heroon that stands on the marble-covered podium. This structure is believed to
be the tomb of a leading figure of the city.
Between the stadium and the temple, there used to be a Turkish-style
bath with
rich decorations and a courtyard with columns in the front that was built in the
second half of the second century A.D. The southeastern half of this symmetrical
structure was excavated in 1978-81. The rich marble covering of the
Turkish
bath, water and water heating channels can still be seen today. The main bathing
rooms like the frigidarium and calidarium are in the middle of this building.
There are many side rooms opening to this room. In the largest room, there is a
marble sculpture of the goddess Hygeia in an apse. In front of the northeast
part of the Turkish-style bath, there used to be a large square courtyard (palaestra)
for sports activities. The large stone blocks found in the fields north of the palaestra show that there could have been a splendid tomb here, round inside but
polygonal on the outside.
The combination of the stadium-theater in Aizanoi is unique. Excavation and
research carried out from 1982 to1990 showed that the construction of the
building started in 160 A.D. and continued until the middle of the third century
A.D. During repairs to the eastern side of the entrance to the stadium, a number
of inscriptions were found and placed in their original places. These
inscriptions tell us that M. Apuleius, who was mentioned in the inscriptions of
the main bridge, also made substantial contributions to the building of this
complex.
Since the sitting rows of the stadium are polygonal, the structure gets wider in
the center. At its widest point, there is a door on the western side. A
marble-covered wall is the only façade of the stadium that looks onto theater.
This is at the same time the back side of theater stage. The marble pieces can
today be seen in the north of the stadium. The low pedestal of this façade wall
is in a Doric plan. There are two floors and on top, there is the high Attika
floor with an arch. The stage of theater was covered with rich decorations made
out of marble. These decorations fell on top of the sitting rows during several
earthquakes throughout the ages. Researchers who examined the marble decorations
on the stage arrived at the conclusion that the building was originally built as
only one story. A second floor was added in later years when expanding the
stadium. A very small portion of the marble parts stayed in their original
places, which was the front part of the structure made out of cut limestone.
Among these fallen marble pieces, there are parts of a frieze depicting a
hunting scene.
In the second half of the third century, in the northeastern side of the city, a
second Turkish-style bath was built inside a building formed by large
limestone.
In one part of this bath, there is a mosaic floor bearing the pictures of a
satyr and maenad. In the fourth and fifth century A.D., the main area of the
Turkish-style bath was rearranged and it was used as the episcopacy center.
A little bit south of this place, there is a round building (Macellum) which was
used as food market in the second part of the second century A.D. This area was
excavated in 1971 and on its partly repaired walls was hung a copy of the price
lists of the Emperor Diocletian which he prepared so as to bring down inflation.
For example, a physically strong slave would be the same price as two donkeys
(30,000 dinar), and one horse was worth three slaves.
The back side of the village house which limits the round door from northeast
was excavated between 1992 and 1995. Here, archaeologists found an avenue dated
back to 400 A.D. surrounded by galleries with columns. Almost all the column and
joist parts were recovered, and this allowed archaeologists to make it stand
again. The architectural parts which were not used were placed on the back walls
of the galleries. This was also the entrance of the shops where goods were sold.
Equipment was taken from other buildings to build a roof to protect people
against sun and rain. Not only architectural pieces, but also sculptures in
desolated buildings were also taken and brought here. In front of the northeast
gallery columns, on a pedestal, there is an honor inscription about Ms. Markia
Tateis from a noble family and a marble sculpture of a flute-playing naked satyr
with a panther skin tied around his body. This sculpture today is displayed at
the .Kutahya Museum.
The relation between the honor inscription and the satyr sculpture shows that
the artists of the late ancient period were not so concerned about the content
of the art but instead they wanted to decorate this avenue with different
artistic elements. The most important building, which was removed to make room
for the avenue with columns, was the Temple of Artemis. Splendid Ionic column
capitals of the northeast gallery decorated with perpendicular leaves belong to
this temple. There is a long inscription that mentions the goddess
Artemis along
with Asclepius on a piece belonging to the temple. The inscription says that the
temple was built during the reign of the Emperor Claudius (41-54 A.D.) Two
plates that were found on the ground of the northeast gallery were originally
from the triangular pediment of the temple. One of these plates has a picture of
a deer which is the symbol of Artemis. The front façade of the temple which has
eight columns can be reconstructed using the parts of the Temple of
Artemis that
were employed in the building of the avenue with columns. This avenue, for whose
construction a temple was demolished, existed until the sixth century when most
likely it was destroyed by an earthquake.
The avenue with columns was the main axis of Aizanoi's city road system. This
450-meter-long road was discovered in a series of drillings in 1991. This avenue
with columns was excavated in 1979, and remains of the door building which form
the southwest end of the road are visible. This avenue was a part of the
ceremonial road leading to the Meter Steunene sacred area outside the city after
passing through the main bridge.
The large necropolises surrounding the city give us an idea about how big the
city was. Various kinds of tombs existed in the necropolises including
door-shaped tombstones which were typical for the Phrygia and Aizanoi region.
These doors symbolize passage to the other world. Most of these tombs belong to
the second century A.D., and they bear the name of the person who is
buried or
who donated it. They also have signs on them showing the tomb's owner. On
women's tombs, there are pictures of baskets full of wool and a mirror, and
men's tombs are decorated with eagles, lions and bulls.
In 1990 and 1991, archaeologists found two remarkable tomb remains on the sacred
road that leads to Meter Steunene two kilometers southwest of Aizanoi. In the
tomb that resembles a cross, there are niches to put sarcophagi. A sarcophagus
depicting the war of the Hellenes (Greeks) and Amazons is today displayed at the
.Kutahya Museum.
The structure with four arches (tetrapylon) was turned into a small
Byzantine
chapel in the Middle Ages (11th and 12th centuries). Here is found the lower
part of a marble sarcophagus bearing a picture of Eros. This piece is displayed
in the garden of the .Kutahya Museum. These sarcophagi and other tomb remains
date back to 155 and 165 A.D.
The cult place of the goddess Meter Steunene, the oldest sacred side of the
city, was a deep burrow in a cave which today has collapsed. Here,
archaeologists found clay cult figurines in excavations in 1928, and these
pieces date back to between the first century B.C. and second century A.D. On
the upper part of the cave, there is a rock throne with steps. Such sacred sites
are encountered in Phrygia's rural areas, and this shows that the Meter Steunene
sacred site was used long before the first century B.C.. There are two round
pits (bothroi) to sacrifice animals, and these could belong to earlier ages of
the sacred site. In these pits, people used to kill offerings for
Anatolia's
goddess whom they believed to be living in rock formations and the ruler of the
mountains and nature.
There are two well-preserved dam walls, built in two stages, which were
constructed on the Penkalas River (Bedir Dere) to protect the city from floods.
These two stages are separated with marble pieces which are mostly seats. On the
rocks on the upper parts of the dam wall, there are marks showing that this
place was used as a stone quarry in ancient times.
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