Ayazini

Overview

Ayazini is a village in the Phrygian Valley where people have lived since Phrygian times. Its houses stand beside soft cliffs of volcanic tuff, and those cliffs are full of carved rooms. Some were homes, some were tombs, and one became a church. So in Ayazini, the old village and the new one live side by side.

Where Ayazini lies

The village belongs to İhsaniye district of Afyonkarahisar province. It forms an important stage on the Phrygian Valley route, among the rock monuments of the Phrygian Valley. Because the volcanic tuff is easy to carve, Romans and Byzantines both cut tombs and houses into it. Our Phrygian Valley tour stops here for the church carved into the tuff.

Quick facts

• Good for: a rock-cut church, cave houses, Roman tombs, an easy village walk
• Best combined with: Aslantaş, Midas City

History of Ayazini

From Phrygians to a Byzantine see

People have lived here since Phrygian times, and the Romans settled here too. Later, in the Byzantine period, Ayazini became a religious center, and it rose to be the metropolis, the leading church seat, of its region. The archaeological site still carries the name Metropolis.

During the early Byzantine period, villagers carved houses into the tuff. Then, after the Byzantines, the Seljuks and the Ottomans kept living in the village. Today's families still bury their dead in the same place as the ancient tombs.

What to See in Ayazini

The Ayazini church

At the entrance to the village, beside the road, builders carved a church into a steep cliff of tuff. It is the best known church of the site. Some call it the Church of the Virgin Mary. Together with the rock rooms around it, it formed a monastery. Its date is uncertain: it most likely goes back to around the 11th century, though it may be earlier, from the 8th to the 10th.

What sets it apart from other rock churches in Anatolia is the outside. Its builders carved the apse and dome on the face of the rock. Inside, arched niches line the side and back walls, with crosses and inscriptions in relief between them. The main room has a cross vault and a central dome. On the floor, traces of bases show that columns once carried it.

Rock houses

On the left side of the road, at the entrance and inside the village, the tuff holds rock houses. Some have a single room, while others sit side by side or stacked on top of each other. You climb to some by steps, and you reach others through tunnels inside the rock. Inside, look for benches to sit on and niches for lamps and belongings.

One large house rises over several floors. Rows of seats line its round wall. In the middle, deep pits served as a hearth or for storage. Next to it, a small raised room holds a rock-cut toilet. Its hole opens to the outside.

Avdalaz Castle

At the top of the Avdalaz Valley, people carved a rock mass known as the castle into stacked rooms. Because of this, it looks rather like a modern apartment block. A deep cistern sinks into its floor.

Rock-cut tombs

Around the village, rock tomb chambers date from Roman and Byzantine times. Some were made for a family and others for one person, and some have two floors. On their fronts, triangular pediments frame the heads of Medusa. You enter through a doorway with columns and a porch. Inside, trough graves lie in arched niches. Several tombs carry lion reliefs, and one shows the husband and wife who were buried in it.

Visiting Ayazini

Getting to Ayazini

From Afyonkarahisar, take the road toward Eskişehir. At kilometer 27, turn right and drive 4.7 kilometers (2.9 miles) to the village. The lion tomb of Aslantaş lies 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) west of the same road, so the two pair well. Farther north, the carved cliff of Midas City completes the day. For walkers, our Phrygian Way page covers the long-distance trail of the region. We plan your walk through Ayazini and its rock tombs in the Phrygian Valley.

Before you go

Ayazini is a lived-in village, and its rock monuments have no published opening hours or tickets. The sites are open and rocky, so wear walking shoes and a hat. On our day in the valley, we reach Ayazini in the late morning, after Aslantaş. Spring and autumn are good seasons for the valley.

Updated: October 26, 2026.

Seeing Ayazini with Us

Would you like to walk among the rock houses of Ayazini? On our Phrygian Valley tour, your guide brings you here after the lions of Aslantaş. After lunch, the day ends at the Midas Monument. Ayazini sits in the middle of that loop, so give us your day and we will time lunch around it.