Afyonkarahisar

Afyonkarahisar is situated in Turkey, between Turkey (Eskisehir, Kutahya, Usak, Denizli, Burdur, Isparta, Konya). Its coordinates are 38°39′06″N 30°40′12″E.

Afyonkarahisar is a province in western Turkey.

The provincial capital is Afyonkarahisar. It covers an area of 14.230 km², and the population is about 697,559.

Capital:

Afyonkarahisar is a city in western Turkey, the capital of Afyonkarahisar Province. Afyonkarahisar is in mountainous countryside inland from the Aegean coast, 250 km south-west of Ankara along the Akar River. Elevation 1,034 m. Population 173 100.

The name is Turkish for the opium black castle, since opium was widely grown here and there is a castle on a black rock. Older spellings include Karahisar-i Sahip Afium-Kara-hissar and Afyon Karahisar. The city was known as Afyon, until the name was changed to Afyonkarahisar by the Turkish Parliament in 2004.

The top of the rock in Afyon has been fortified for a long, long time. It was known to the Hittites as Hapanuwa, and was later occupied by Phrygians, Lydians and Achaemenid Persians until it was conquered by Alexander the Great. After the death of Alexander the city, now known as Akroinon, was ruled by the Seleucids and the kings of Pergamon, then Rome and Byzantium. The Byzantine emperor Leo III after his victory over Arab besiegers in 740 renamed the city Nicopolis. The Seljuq Turks then arrived in 1071 and changed its name to Kara Hissar after the ancient fortress situated upon a volcanic rock 201 meters above the town. Following the dispersal of the Seljuqs the town was occupied by the Sahipoğulları and then the Germiyan.

The castle was much fought over during the Crusades and was finally conquered by the Ottoman Sultan Beyazid I in 1392 but was lost after the invasion of Timur Lenk in 1402. It was recaptured in 1428 or 1429.

The area thrived during the Ottoman Empire, as the centre of opium production and Afyon became a wealthy city with the typical Ottoman urban mixture of Turks, Armenians and Greeks. During the 1st World War British prisoners of war who had been captured at Gallipoli were housed here in an empty Armenian church at the foot of the rock. During the Greco-Turkish War campaign Afyon and the surrounding hills were occupied by French, Italian and then Greek forces. However, it was recovered on 27 August 1922, a key moment in the great Turkish counter-attack in the Aegean region. After 1923 Afyon became a part of the Republic of Turkey.

The region was a major producer of raw opium until the late 1960s when under international pressure, from the USA in particular, the fields were burnt and production ceased. Now Poppies are grown under a strict licensing regime. They do not produce raw opium any more but derive Morphine and other opiates using the poppy straw method of extraction.

Afyon was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 50 lira banknote of 1927-1938.

Afyonkarahisar has a continental climate and semi-arid climate, with cold and snowy winters and hot and dry summers. Rainfall occurs mostly during the spring and autumn.

Afyon is the centre of an agricultural area and the city has a country town feel to it. There is little in the way of bars, cafes, live music or other cultural amenities, and the standards of education are low for a city in the west of Turkey. However Afyon Kocatepe University opened in the 1990s and this must surely lead to improvements eventually. Nowadays Afyon is known for its marble, its sucuk, its kaymak and various handmade weavings. There is also a large cement factory.

This is a natural crossroads, the routes from Ankara to İzmir and from Istanbul to Antalya intersect here and Afyon is a popular stopping-place on these journeys. There are a number of well-established roadside restaurants for travellers to breakfast on the local cuisine. Some of these places are modern well-equipped hotels and spas; the mineral waters of Afyon are renowned for their healing qualities. There is also a long string of roadside kiosks selling the local Turkish delight. Afyon is also an important railroad junction between İzmir, Konya, Ankara and Istanbul.

Twin Towns:

Hamm, Germany

No coat of arms

You can get here from London by taking a plane from London-Heathrow Airport to Ataturk International Airport then to Usak Airport and then go by car to Afyonkarahisar.