Current Time in Afyonkarahisar, Turkey

Afyonkarahisar stands in inland western Turkey, where the Aegean region meets the Anatolian plateau, about two hundred and fifty kilometres south-west of Ankara. The city is built around a dramatic volcanic outcrop that rises more than two hundred metres above the plain and carries the ruins of a fortress, a landmark visible from far across the surrounding wheat fields. At around a thousand metres above sea level it has hot dry summers and cold, often snowy winters.

Roughly a quarter of a million people live in the city, which is the capital of a province of similar name and a busy provincial centre. Its name joins two ideas: afyon, the Turkish word for opium, and kara hisar, the black castle. Both are literal. The surrounding countryside is one of the few places in the world licensed to grow opium poppies for the international pharmaceutical industry, processed at a state alkaloid plant nearby, and the black rock of the citadel dominates the skyline.

Settlement here is very old. The fortress was already a Hittite stronghold, and the region was the heartland of ancient Phrygia. Later came Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman rule, each leaving traces in the old town of narrow lanes and timber-framed houses climbing the slopes below the castle. The thirteenth-century Ulu Cami, with its forest of wooden columns and carved ceiling, is one of the finest surviving Seljuk mosques of its kind.

Afyonkarahisar holds a special place in modern Turkish history. It was here, from the heights of Kocatepe, that the decisive offensive of the War of Independence was launched in August 1922, leading to victory at nearby Dumlupınar. The Victory Museum, the monuments on Kocatepe and the annual commemorations on 30 August keep that memory alive.

Visitors also come for the thermal waters. The province has some of the richest hot springs in Turkey, and large spa hotels at Ömer, Gecek and Sandıklı draw people seeking treatment for rheumatic complaints as well as ordinary holidaymakers. To the north lies the extraordinary Phrygian Valley, a landscape of soft volcanic rock carved with monumental tombs, rock-cut churches and the great facade known as the Midas Monument.

The city is famous throughout Turkey for its food. Afyon sucuk, a spiced dried sausage, is a national speciality, and the thick clotted cream known as kaymak, eaten with local honey or with candied desserts, is equally celebrated. Marble is the other great local product, and quarries around the city supply white and cream stone to builders worldwide.

Afyonkarahisar is one of the country's most important transport junctions. Main railways from Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara and Konya meet here, high-speed lines pass close by, and motorways radiate in every direction, a position that has shaped the city's role as a trading crossroads for centuries.

Afyon Kocatepe University, with tens of thousands of students, adds a youthful element to the city.

Afyonkarahisar is popular for its castle, its spas, its marble and its cuisine, and it remains a proud symbol of Turkey's national story.