Kütahya, Turkey Guide

Kütahya, 182 km (113 miles) southeast of Bursa and 78 km (49 miles) southwest of Eskişehir (map), is known for its beautiful colored tiles and pottery, but it has an interesting history as well.

Kütahya (kur-TAHH-yah, from the Latin Cotyaeum; pop. 250,000) rests beneath a ruined hilltop fortress in Aegean Turkey just about equidistant (around 330 km/205 miles, 5 hours) from Ankara, Istanbul, İzmir,Konya and Pamukkale.

Faience (Colored Tiles) & More

Everybody here seems to be in the business of making or selling faience (colored tiles), called çini (CHEE-nee) in Turkish, but the town also has an Ulu Cami (Great Mosque) dating from 1410, a 16th-century market building, and a former medrese (theological seminary) dating from 1440.

The interesting museum is in another medrese, the Vacidiye, dating from 1314, right next to the Ulu Cami.

Lajos Kossuth

Hungarian revolutionary hero Lajos Kossuth (1802-1851) fled to Turkey when his revolt (1849) against the Hapsburgs was crushed by Russian troops. He lived here from 1850 to 1851. His Kütahya house is now a museum.

Aizanoi

While you’re here, visit the Roman ruins at Aizanoi with their well-preserved Temple of Zeus, next to village of Çavdarhisar 60 km (37 miles) south of Kütahya on the way to Uşak.

Phrygia

The scant remains of ancient Phrygia (1200-600 BC) are scattered through the hills east of Kütahya, south of Eskisehir and north of Afyon.

Transport

You can get to Kütahya by bus, car or train, although the train connections are not particularly good. Coming from Istanbul, cross the Sea of Marmara on a ferryboat to Yalova and catch a bus from there or from Bursa to Kütahya.

The nearest airport is at Afyon, but you might as well just go by road and ferry to Istanbul.