Photo: Nabbegat (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source Afyonkarahisar is known for its castle on a 226-metre rock that was once a volcano, its UNESCO World Heritage Grand Mosque and Kocatepe, where the Great Offensive began. With its thermal hotels, clotted cream (kaymak) and sucuk, it is also one of Türkiye's thermal and gastronomy capitals, while the rock churches and monuments of the Phrygian Valley are the province's greatest undiscovered treasure.
Last updated:
17 places worth seeing in Afyonkarahisar, from historic monuments to natural wonders, grouped by type. Open any of them on the map with a single click.
The castle stands on a 226-metre rock that was once a volcano. It was known as Hapanuva in the Hittite period and as Akroenos in the Roman and Byzantine eras, and also as Hisar-ı Devlet ("Fortress of the State") because the treasure of the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I was kept here. From the summit you can see the whole city.
View on mapKocatepe, about 20 km south of the city, is the hill from which the Great Offensive began on the morning of 26 August 1922. The Atatürk Monument stands at the summit, at 1,874 metres, and the cemetery has symbolic graves in memory of the 275 officers and 2,150 soldiers who fell in the offensive.
View on mapA national park covering the Kocatepe, Zafertepe–Çalköy and Dumlupınar line, where the Great Offensive and the Battle of the Commander-in-Chief took place. Also known as the "Victory Road" (Zafer Yolu), it is visited by thousands of people every year on 30 August.
View on mapA caravanserai in the town of Döğer in İhsaniye, built in 1434 by Sultan Murad II during his campaign against the Karamanids. About 56 metres long, it consists of a two-storey inn and a single-storey camel stable. It was restored in 1991–1993.
View on mapİscehisar, known in antiquity as Dokimeion, is the source of one of the finest white marbles in the world; the marble is still exported today to many provinces of Türkiye and around the world.
View on mapAyazini, the "heart of Phrygia", lies in İhsaniye district, 33 km from the city centre, and has more than 300 rock-cut dwellings, tombs and chapels. The village's Byzantine-period rock church is about a thousand years old.
View on mapThe Göynüş Valley in İhsaniye holds the most impressive rock monuments of the Phrygian Valley; the Maltaş open-air temple stands out for its majestic façade carved into the rock mass.
View on mapBuilt between 1272 and 1277 and popularly known as the Kırk Direkli ("Forty Columns") Mosque, this timber-columned mosque is one of the important examples of Seljuk and Beylik-period timber-columned mosque architecture. In 2023 it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site among the "Medieval Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Anatolia".
View on mapA complex built around 1470–1472 for Gedik Ahmed Paşa, vizier in the time of Mehmed the Conqueror, and attributed to the architect Ayaz Ağa. It consists of a mosque, hammam, primary school (sıbyan mektebi) and madrasa, and is a leading example of 15th-century Ottoman architecture in the city.
View on mapThe Mevlevi lodge founded by Ulu Ârif Çelebi in 1316 was rebuilt in 1908 after a fire in 1902 and opened as a museum in 2008. The tradition of "40 Hatimli Şifalı Aşure" (healing aşure of forty Qur'an recitations) is believed to have begun here.
View on mapBuilt as the town hall in 1913–1914, the building became the headquarters of Commander-in-Chief Mustafa Kemal Paşa and his commanders after the city's liberation on 27 August 1922, and the final plans for the Battle of the Commander-in-Chief of 30 August were drawn up here. It has been a museum since 1985.
View on mapFounded in 1933, this archaeology and ethnography museum moved in 2023 to its new building on the Afyonkarahisar–Izmir road. Alongside finds from the Palaeolithic through the Hittite, Phrygian, Roman and Byzantine periods, it has a Seljuk–Ottoman ethnography collection and a rich sculpture garden.
View on mapA thermal area in Gazlıgöl, in İhsaniye district, 25 km north of the city. It is also the source of Kızılay Maden Suyu (Kızılay mineral water), which has been in production since 1868 and is regarded as the oldest bottled mineral water in Türkiye.
View on mapDeclared a Thermal Tourism Area by the Ministry, this district has the greatest concentration of thermal hotels on the Izmir road.
View on mapHüdai, in the Sandıklı district, is one of the four areas of Afyonkarahisar declared Thermal Tourism Areas.
View on mapA subsidence lake at 967 metres, between the Emir Mountains to the north and the Sultan Mountains to the south. Because of its extensive reed beds, most of it looks like a meadow. It is fed by the Akarçay and by waters from the Sultan Mountains, and is good for birdwatching.
View on mapA nature area of about 14,500 hectares in the Sandıklı district, protected since 2000; its wooded slopes are good for walking.
View on mapAfyonkarahisar is a city in inner western Anatolia, at the point where the Aegean, Central Anatolia and Mediterranean regions meet. The symbol of the city is the castle on a 226-metre rock that was once a volcano. Called Hapanuva in Hittite sources and Akroenos in the Roman and Byzantine periods, the castle was known as Karahisar under the Seljuks and took the name Karahisar-ı Sahip after the vizier Sahip Ata Fahreddin Ali; the city’s present name was given by Selim II after the poppy (afyon) grown in the area.
The Grand Mosque, built in 1272–1277 in the valley between the castle and Hıdırlık Hill, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2023 under the “Medieval Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Anatolia”. With the Mevlevihane founded by Ulu Ârif Çelebi in 1316 and the complex of Gedik Ahmed Paşa, vizier in the time of Mehmed the Conqueror, the city carries its Seljuk–Ottoman fabric into the present day.
Afyonkarahisar has a special place in Turkish history: on the morning of 26 August 1922, on Mustafa Kemal Paşa’s order given at Kocatepe, the Great Offensive began; the city was liberated on 27 August, and the final plans for the Battle of the Commander-in-Chief were drawn up in the building that is now the Victory Museum.
Today the city is known for three things: thermal tourism, with the greatest thermal bed capacity in Türkiye; marble production, among the world’s leading (İscehisar’s white marble has been quarried since antiquity); and gastronomy. In 2019 Afyonkarahisar joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the field of gastronomy.
Afyonkarahisar has a continental climate: winters are cold and snowy, summers mild and dry. Averages for 1929–2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service:
| Month | Avg. high | Avg. low | Rainfall | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.6 °C | −3.4 °C | 44 mm | 13 |
| February | 6.6 °C | −2.4 °C | 39 mm | 12 |
| March | 11.0 °C | 0.1 °C | 45 mm | 12 |
| April | 16.5 °C | 4.3 °C | 45 mm | 11 |
| May | 21.4 °C | 8.2 °C | 56 mm | 12 |
| June | 25.7 °C | 11.4 °C | 42 mm | 8 |
| July | 29.6 °C | 13.9 °C | 22 mm | 4 |
| August | 29.7 °C | 13.8 °C | 14 mm | 3 |
| September | 25.4 °C | 10.0 °C | 21 mm | 4 |
| October | 19.4 °C | 5.9 °C | 35 mm | 7 |
| November | 12.9 °C | 1.8 °C | 33 mm | 8 |
| December | 6.7 °C | −1.2 °C | 47 mm | 12 |
The best time for sightseeing is between May and October; spring and autumn are ideal for walks in the Phrygian Valley. At the end of August, Kocatepe and the Victory Road become very crowded because of the ceremonies for the Great Offensive and Victory Day on 30 August, so book accommodation in advance for this period. Winter is the most popular season for thermal tourism: the open-air pools are a special pleasure at night-time temperatures below zero (the lowest recorded temperature is −27 °C).
By air: Zafer Airport, Türkiye’s first regional airport, serving Kütahya, Afyonkarahisar and Uşak, is in the Altıntaş district of Kütahya, about 59 km from Afyonkarahisar.
By train: Afyonkarahisar Ali Çetinkaya Station, in the Ali Çetinkaya neighbourhood, is the junction of the Izmir–Afyon and Eskişehir–Konya railways; the Konya Blue Train, the Pamukkale Express and the Eskişehir–Afyonkarahisar regional trains pass through here. Check current timetables with TCDD Taşımacılık.
By road: The city lies at the intersection of the roads linking Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Antalya. There are more than 20 five-star thermal hotels on the Izmir road.
Afyonkarahisar is the province with the highest thermal bed capacity in Türkiye. Ömer-Gecek, Hüdai (Sandıklı), Heybeli and Gazlıgöl-Yaylabağı have been declared Thermal Tourism Areas by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Gazlıgöl, 25 km north of the city, is also the source of Kızılay Maden Suyu, in production since 1868 and known as the oldest bottled mineral water in Türkiye. Thermal waters are traditionally used for conditions such as rheumatism, skin diseases and kidney stones; always consult a doctor before using them for treatment.
The Afyon section of the Phrygian Valley, which extends across Afyonkarahisar, Eskişehir and Kütahya, is concentrated around İhsaniye. In the village of Ayazini, the “heart of Phrygia” (33 km from the centre), there are more than 300 rock-cut structures of various sizes, including dwellings, rock tombs and chapels; the village’s Byzantine-period rock church is about a thousand years old. At Döğer stands the caravanserai built by Sultan Murad II in 1434, and in the Göynüş Valley you can see the Aslantaş, Yılantaş and Maltaş Phrygian monuments. The region continued to be used after the Phrygians, in the Roman and Byzantine periods.
Day 1 – The city centre: Climb the castle in the cool of the morning (it is reached by a stepped path; water and comfortable shoes are essential). On the way down, visit the Grand Mosque, the Mevlevihane Museum and the Gedik Ahmed Paşa Complex; in the afternoon, go to the Victory Museum and the new Afyonkarahisar Museum on the Izmir road. Spend the evening at a thermal hotel.
Day 2 – The Victory Road: Go up to Kocatepe, about 20 km south of the city; the Atatürk Monument and the Great Offensive Martyrs’ Cemetery are here, at 1,874 metres. On the way back you can visit the other sites of the Commander-in-Chief Historical National Park.
Day 3 – The Phrygian Valley: Start with the rock churches and tombs of Ayazini, move on to Döğer Caravanserai, and in the afternoon see the Aslantaş and Yılantaş monuments in the Göynüş Valley. On the way back you can take a thermal break at Gazlıgöl.
The list of Afyonkarahisar’s products with geographical indications is a long one: Afyon kaymağı (registered in 2009, best made from buffalo milk), Afyon sucuğu, Afyon pastırması, kaymaklı ekmek kadayıfı, potato home-style bread, Çay sour cherries and Şuhut keşkeği are some of them. Kaymak and honey at breakfast, sucuk döner (a type of döner unique to Afyon) at lunch and kaymaklı ekmek kadayıfı for dessert make a classic Afyon day. Kaymaklı lokum is the most popular souvenir. In the province regarded as the homeland of the poppy, rolls made with poppy-seed paste are also common.
Afyonkarahisar province has 18 districts. Explore the places to visit, local dishes and transport in each one.
A thick, glossy white clotted cream, best when made from buffalo milk; it received a geographical indication on 10 July 2009. It is eaten at breakfast with honey or alongside desserts.
A sucuk with a geographical indication, made in the traditional way from minced meat enriched with red pepper, black pepper and garlic.
A döner made from sucuk, unique to Afyonkarahisar cuisine.
One of the products with a geographical indication, Afyon pastırma (cured beef) is part of the province's meat-product tradition alongside sucuk.
A dessert with a geographical indication, served by topping syrupy bread kadayıf with Afyon kaymak.
Afyon lokum is both an everyday treat and the most popular souvenir.
In the city centre the highlights are Afyonkarahisar Castle, the UNESCO World Heritage Grand Mosque, the Gedik Ahmed Paşa Complex, the Mevlevihane and the Victory Museum. In the surrounding area, Kocatepe, the Ayazini rock settlement, Döğer Caravanserai, the Phrygian monuments and thermal areas such as Gazlıgöl and Ömer-Gecek stand out.
Built in 1272–1277, this timber-columned mosque was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023 as one of the medieval timber-columned and beamed mosques of Anatolia.
Zafer Airport, in the Altıntaş district of Kütahya, is about 59 km from Afyonkarahisar.
Kocatepe is about 20 km south of Afyonkarahisar; the Atatürk Monument stands at the 1,874-metre summit. The Great Offensive began here on 26 August 1922.
Its kaymak, sucuk, pastırma, kaymaklı ekmek kadayıfı and lokum; it is also known for its thermal springs and İscehisar marble. It has been a UNESCO City of Gastronomy since 2019.
Ömer-Gecek, Hüdai (Sandıklı), Heybeli and Gazlıgöl-Yaylabağı have been declared Thermal Tourism Areas by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The information in this guide has been compiled from and checked against the sources below (last checked: 7 October 2026). If you spot an error, please let us know.