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Afyon,
the Black
Fortress of Opium—what
a name for a nice town! It comes
from
the sheer rock promontory topped
by an age-old fortress at
the town's center.
Usually
called just Afyon, it's famous
for its Turkish
delight (lokum), some
of it made with the rich local clotted
cream (kaymak) that also
appears in baklava and other
desserts. Because Afyon is halfway
between Izmir and Ankara,
travelers often take a break here
to eat some.
Legend
has it that the clotted cream is
produced by cattle fed on the leftover
opium poppy plants grown in abundance
here.
Graceful
old Ottoman houses line
some of Afyon's back streets, and Seljuk and early
Ottoman mosques such as the Great
Mosque (Ulu
Cami, 1273), Dervish
Hall Mosque (Mevlevihane
Camii, 1300s)
and Soup Kitchen Mosque (Imaret
Camii, 1472)
are worth a visit.
The Battle
of Dumlupinar near Afyon was
the decisive victory (August 30,
1922) which swept the invaders
out at the end of Turkey's War
of Independence.
Although opium
poppies are still grown around
Afyon, there's hardly any black
market for the drug anymore. Most
of the opium ends up as mophine
for use in hospitals.
There's
plenty of bus service
to Afyon, and trains between Izmir and Ankara,
and Istanbul and Konya,
stop here as well.
Distances & Travel
Times
Ankara: 260
km (162 miles) NE, 4 hours
Antalya: 300
km (186 miles) S, 5 hours
Beysehir: 148 km (92 miles) SE, 3 hours
Egirdir: 211
km (131 miles) S, 3-1/2 hours
Eskisehir: 190
km (118 miles) N, 3 hours
Istanbul: 455
km (283 miles) N, 6-1/2 hours
Izmir: 340
km (211 miles) W, 5-1/2 hours
Konya: 235
km (146 miles) SE, 4 hours
Kütahya: 100
km (62 miles) N, 1-1/2 hours
Pamukkale: 260
km (162 miles) SW, 4 hours
Usak: 115
km (72 miles) W, 2 hours
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