Located within the borders of the western Anatolian city of Uşak, the ancient city of Blaundus (or Blaundos as known by some) presents breathtakingly beautiful ruins, of which the most special are perhaps a series of stone blocks which were once a state building that have earned the nickname the "Stonehenge of Anatolia."

Blaundus was established by the Macedonians, who stayed in Anatolia after Alexander the Great’s military campaign in the area in the third century B.C. The city's Macedonian inhabitants used to even call themselves the "Macedonians of Blaundus." However not long after Alexander the Great’s reign, Blaundus became part of the Kingdom of Pergamon, and later, was occupied by the Romans. The city experienced its golden age in the Roman era.

The city of Blaundus, a 40-minute drive from Uşak, is built on a vast plain surrounded by deep valleys and canyons which resembles a peninsula. A temple, theater, stadium, graves made of rock, a colonnaded street and well-preserved city walls are the most notable sites this often-overlooked ancient city boasts.

Story of its discovery

In 1834, British traveler and antiquarian Francis Vyvyan Jago Arundell visited the area. Upon examining the coins found around Blaundus, Arundell assumed he had found the ancient city of Klannudda (or Alaudda), which actually stands in the northwest direction of Blaundus.

This inaccurate assumption was changed when the British geologist William John Hamilton uncovered inscriptions on a slab that said "Blaundeon Makedonon" in 1845 making it clear that what Arundell had thought to be Klannudda was the ancient Macedonian city of Blaundus.

German researcher K. Buresch, who visited Blaundus in 1894, reported that Ottoman officers had used a considerable portion of the ruins of Blaundus to construct military barracks in one of the surrounding villages.

Before entering Blaundus

When heading towards the city, a couple of hundred meters before the parking lot and the city entrance, there are two notable sites that you must stop to see. It is not possible to miss them given the big signboards on the sides of the road.