Afyon; the healing city and its incredible sausage

Turkey is blessed with healing thermal waters, and therefore Afyon, due to its thermal and curative waters, is one of the most visited places (after Pamukkale)  for years. However, the visitors come to Afyon not only for its water but also for its rich history. Afyon, aka Afyonkarahisar -known that way among the locals- was turned to ashes in the Ottoman era after a big fire. After being rebuilt, the city became home for Muslims, Greeks, Armenians, and Jews. This multi-cultural era left lots of different and unique buildings behind. If you ask Turkish people, Afyon is definitely famous for its delicious sucuk , aka Turkish sausage, and of course, its Turkish delight! So, if you want to visit Afyon, here is your guide!

Just 20 kilometers away from Afyon city center, you will find the Gazlıgöl's thermal spring and its curative miracle waters. With its carbon dioxide, sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride, bromide and fluoride rich water, this thermal spring cures rheumatism, cardio-vascular problems, digestive and intestinal complaints, kidney diseases, urinary tract and metabolism disorders, and skin & orthopedic problems. Afyon's mud baths are also quite famous all around the world. Tourists come all year round to find cures to rheumatism and joint diseases. This magical mud in Afyon has also a tightening effect. Regular mud therapy can help with wrinkles and cures the skin imperfections. So, if you want to make your skin more radiant and youthful, relieve tiredness and strengthen the immune system through sulfur pools, then you definitely have to check out the Gazlıgöl thermal spring.

Sucuk, Afyon's traditional sausage

And finally, let's talk about the food! In Afyon, you can eat the best Turkish sausage, which is known as sucuk. Sucuk is made of ground beef or lamb meat and many many spices. In Turkey, it is normally eaten for breakfast, but in Afyon, you can eat it at any time of the day. Most common dishes are the sucuk döner, sucuk sandwich and sucuk omelet. You also have to taste their delicious Turkish delight, which is made with the rich local clotted cream, called kaymak of Afyon. You can eat the same cream with baklava in here too! The best place in Afyon to eat is definitely the İkbal restaurant.