Blaundos: Ancient City above the Ulubey Canyon

On this page

1. What is Blaundos?
2. How do you get to Blaundos?
3. When is the best time to visit Blaundos?
4. What is the history of Blaundos?
5. What is Blaundos famous for?
6. What can you see at Blaundos?
7. Common misconceptions about Blaundos
8. Frequently asked questions about Blaundos
9. What do the official records say about Blaundos?

What is Blaundos?

Blaundos is an ancient city in the south of Uşak province, built on a narrow promontory with deep canyon valleys on three sides. It lies within the boundaries of Sülümenli village in Ulubey district, on the edge of the canyon system now protected as the Ulubey Canyon nature park.

The city stood on the border between Lydia and Phrygia. According to the Uşak Culture and Tourism Directorate, its main structures are the fortress, temples, a theatre, a stadium and rock-cut tombs. Greek coins spell its name Mlaundos; a Roman-period inscription spells it Blaundos.

For visitors the setting is half the appeal: the ruins stand on a spur of rock with the canyon falling away on either side, a short drive from the glass terrace of the Ulubey Canyon nature park.

How do you get to Blaundos?

Blaundos is about 40 km from Uşak city, near Sülümenli village in Ulubey district. Drive from Uşak to Ulubey, then on to Sülümenli; ask in the village for the way to the ruins. There is no public transport to the site, so you need a car or a taxi from Ulubey. The site combines naturally with the glass terrace at the Ulubey Canyon nature park.

Tours in Anatolia

−5% Istambul readers save 5% on every tour below — applied at checkout.

See all tours

Partner listings via GetYourGuide · free cancellation on most

When is the best time to visit Blaundos?

April to June and September to October are the most comfortable months. The site is exposed with little shade, so in July and August arrive early in the morning or in the late afternoon. Wear sturdy shoes and keep well back from the edges: the promontory is bounded by deep valleys on three sides.

What is the history of Blaundos?

Cylinder seals found in excavations suggest people already lived here at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC, in the period of the Assyrian trading colonies. The city itself was founded in the Hellenistic period, within the Seleucid kingdom. The 2002 inventory says it was founded by settlers from Macedonia after Alexander the Great’s campaign in Anatolia, and that it grew in importance under Rome as a frontier city.

In Roman and Byzantine times Blaundos was the seat of a bishop under the metropolitan of Sardis. Three bishops are known by name: Phoebus, who distanced himself from the Arians at the Council of Seleucia in 359 and was deposed for it; Elijah, who attended the Council of Chalcedon in 451; and Onesiphorus, who signed a letter from the Lydian bishops to Emperor Leo in 458. The city is last recorded in the 12th century.

Excavations have been carried out at the site in recent years. In 2019 excavators on the main street found a bronze medallion of about AD 163–165, struck in the nearby Lydian city of Silandos, with Faustina the Younger on one side and the co-emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus clasping hands on the other (see Blaundus).

What is Blaundos famous for?

• Its setting, on a promontory with canyons on three sides.
• Rock-cut tombs in the canyon walls below the city.
• The temples and theatre of a Roman frontier town.
• The 2019 Silandos medallion, a rare find from the reign of Marcus Aurelius.

What can you see at Blaundos?

The fortress. The provincial directorate lists the castle first among the city’s main structures; on a promontory with valleys on three sides, the defences had to protect only the landward approach.

Temples, theatre and stadium. The public buildings of the Hellenistic and Roman town, all listed by the provincial directorate among its main structures.

The main street. The 2019 medallion was found in the fill of a later Byzantine workshop built on the main street, a reminder that the city was reused and rebuilt long after its Roman peak.

Rock tombs. Chamber tombs cut into the canyon walls; look down from the edge of the promontory to see them.

Finds in Uşak. Stone works and statues from Blaundos are on display in the Uşak Archaeology Museum, alongside finds from Akmonia and Sebaste.

Common misconceptions about Blaundos

Was Blaundos a Lydian city?

What people often assume: Because it lies in the old Lydian lands near Uşak, home of the Lydian gold of the Karun Treasure, Blaundos is often presented as a Lydian city.

What the record says: Blaundos was founded in the Hellenistic period, centuries after the Lydian kingdom fell; only cylinder seals point to a much earlier settlement on the site (Blaundus, Wikipedia; Uşak Culture and Tourism Directorate).

Frequently asked questions about Blaundos

What do the official records say about Blaundos?

Near Sülümenli village in Ulubey district, it was founded by people who came from Macedonia after Alexander the Great’s campaign in Anatolia. It was a border city whose importance increased in the Roman period. It stands on a peninsula surrounded by deep valleys. Its most important structures are the castle, temples, theatre, stadium and rock tombs. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Uşak Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)