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Aizanoi, the second Ephesus of Turkey
Aizanoi, the second Ephesus of Turkey
Aizanoi, located in the western province of Kütahya’s Çavdarhisar district and on the UNESCO Tentative List of World Heritage, is home to the best-protected temple in Anatolia: The Temple of Zeus. (Photos: Alamy)
It hosts an ancient theater with a capacity of 15,000 people, a stadium with a capacity of 13,000 people, two baths, the world’s first stock exchange building, a column-lined street, five bridges, two agoras, necropolises, waterways and several structures, which have all been unearthed during archaeological excavations since 1926.
The name “Aizanoi” comes from the mythological hero “Azan.” The city is believed to date back to 3,000 B.C.
During the Hellenistic era, Aizanoi was periodically seized by the Pergamon Kingdom and Bithynia. The city later fell under Roman rule but gradually declined in importance in the early Byzantine era.
Aizanoi lost its importance around the seventh century. The flat area around the Temple of Zeus was transformed into a fortress in the Middle Ages and used as a base by the Çavdar Tatars in the 13th century. This is why the area was named Çavdarhisar.
Later, Aizanoi, where the Roman emperor Diocletianus announced the prices of goods on inscriptions with the aim of combating inflation, began hosting the world’s first stock exchange.
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