Ancient City of Blaundos

Blaundos stands on a plateau above the Ulubey Canyon, about forty kilometres south of Usak. According to tradition the city was founded by Macedonian soldiers who stayed on here after Alexander's campaign, which is why on its coins it called itself Blaundos of the Macedonians. The site was chosen by military logic: on three sides the plateau drops away into deep gorges, and the only way in is from the east, where a Hellenistic gate with a tower has survived. On the plateau lie the ruins of two temples, one of them dedicated to Demeter, the remains of a stadium about a hundred and fifty metres long, a stretch of a colonnaded street and the arches of an aqueduct. Hundreds of rock-cut burial chambers with painted walls are carved into the sides of the canyon, one of the largest collections of the kind in Anatolia. At the far edge of the plateau stand three structures of huge stone blocks laid into rectangular frames with lintels; for their likeness to the British megalithic circle they are called the Anatolian Stonehenge, although they are the remains of Roman buildings. Excavations have been under way since 2018, the area is not fenced, and people walk freely across the plateau.

On the map