Kula is an inland town and municipality in the Central Aegean region of Turkey, with a population in 2022 of 43,227. It has an extensive historic quarter and remarkable volcanic areas on its outskirts known since antiquity as the "burnt land", recognized as a UNESCO global geopark.

Understand

Yanıkyöre is the modern name and Katakekaumene the ancient Greek for the "burnt land", the volcanic areas near town. Eruptions from 1 million to 12,000 years ago produced lava fields flowing north, which solidified into a jet-black badlands. The lava is the type known as aa, sharp cinders. The volcanoes are stubby little cones, some 80 of them, none more than 150 m high; they're considered dormant not extinct as the underlying fault line is still in motion. The volcanic area has weathered into a strange black landscape between Kula and Salihli, recognised in 2013 as a UNESCO Global Geopark.

Get in

Kula is strung along D300/E96, the main highway from Izmir into Anatolia. Izmir is 145 km west and Uşak is 75 km east.

One bus a day is direct from Istanbul, taking 10 hours, otherwise change in Izmir.

Buses from Ankara run hourly taking 6 hr 30 min via Afyonkarahisar and Uşak, and continue to Salihli (for Sardis), Turgutlu and Izmir (about another 2 hours).

The long-distance bus lines don't sell tickets for the short hop from Uşak, but Kula Seyahat dolmuşes run hourly.

1 Otogar the bus station is just off D300, 1 km southwest of town centre.

Get around

Walk in Kula old town, the streets are too narrow and potholed for anything else.

You need your own wheels for outlying sights.

See

Tarihi Kula Evleri is the road sign for the historic centre, 1 km north of the highway.

• 1 Yunus Emre Cd is the pedestrianised bazaar or retail strip, a grid of one- or two-storey shops. These sell day-to-day necessities: no tourists means no tourist tat, all the tat here is for domestic use.
• 2 Old Town is on the gentle rise to the east. It has traditional Ottoman architecture: two-storey houses with jettied upper floors over higgledy-piggledy alleys, with öpüşen çatılar ("kissing roofs") almost touching across. Scattered neo-classical designs, Greek inscriptions, Orthodox Christian insignia, and a renovated church indicate the town's former Greek population. Much of it is derelict, and the church (Meryem Ana Kilisesi) and museum are closed.
• 3 Şah Süleyman Mosque is modern but elegantly tiled within, though its congregation complain it's cold in winter. Other mosques in town are simple.

Yanıkyöre are the volcanic badlands around town, with farmland between.

• 4 Kula Divlit or yanardağ is a volcanic cone 5 km northeast of town. Approach by Divlit Cd: a visitor centre is under construction in 2023. The road degenerates into dirt track, passable by 2WD with care for 3 km. Otopark A is the first parking lot, with a viewpoint from a gazebo and a hiking trail continuing 3 km north. Another km up the dirt track is Otopark B, start of another trail.

  

  Hoodoos near Kula

• 5 Peribacaları are hoodoos or "fairy chimneys", towers of soft rock capped by harder rock. Inevitably they're compared to Cappadocia and labelled "Kuladokya", though they're not as weird and don't contain houses. They're 18 km east of town, drive 1 km off the highway then hike the valley trail for a closer look. The area is free to explore.
• 6 Sandal Divlit or yanardağ is another volcanic cone, 1.5 km west of the village of Sandal. Turn off D300 at the filling station 10 km west of Kula, follow the lane towards Sandal but bear left at the fork signed "Yunus Emre" to bypass village centre and reach the crossroads for the volcano. From the parking lot a wooden walkway ascends to the crater rim: take great care (and don't come in wet weather) as steps and guard rails are in poor condition. The vegetation has recovered better than at Kula, with a pine forest on the north slopes facing the lava field, and the evolving plant colonisation of volcanic areas is a natural scientific experiment. The area is free to explore. No facilities at the parking lot, the filling station has the nearest toilets.
• Kaplan village 20 km west of Kula has a double volcano surrounded by a lava field. But access is difficult up a bad road, and there's nothing here that you didn't already see at Kula or Sandal.

Do

• Boot camp: Gençlik Kampı 2 km south of town is an organised camp for young adults, with sports and other virtuous activities. It's not for the independent or studious of mind.

Buy

• Lots of little stores, usually open daily 08:00-23:00, there's no big supermarket.

Eat

The two main eating strips are on the street from the otogar to town centre, and around the central market area.

Drink

Local wine is made at Yanık Ülke 6 km west of town on D300, with accommodation at Villa Estet, see below.

Sleep

Kula Divlit

• 1 Anemon Hotel, Zafer Sk 7, ☏ +90 236 228 2151. Pleasant small budget hotel in an Ottoman mansion. Anemon are a chain with some two dozen hotels across Turkey. B&B double 1500 TL. (updated Nov 2023)
• 2 Bilgi Hanim Konaği, 157th Sk 30, ☏ +90 542 801 5253. Friendly little pansiyon. (updated Nov 2023)
• Kurcan Otel near the bus station gets rotten reviews.
• 3 Villa Estet, Atatürk Cd 317 (8 km west of town), ☏ +90 236 847 2121. Part of the Anemon chain, this is a villa and vineyard on a hill overlooking the main highway D300. B&B double 2000 TL. (updated Nov 2023)

Connect

Kula and its approach highways have 4G from all Turkish carriers. As of Nov 2023, 5G has not rolled out in Turkey.

Go next

• Uşak is the first major town to the east. It also has a historic core, but the main reason to visit is its small but excellent archaeological museum, with the Lydian treasures in exhibit. On the way, consider taking a short detour into Taşyaran Valley for more of geological curiosities of the region.
• Sardis the extensive ruins of the Lydian capital is a short drive west.
• Manisa and Izmir, the main regional cities, are further west.

Routes through Kula

Izmir ← Sardis ←

W  E

→ Uşak → Afyonkarahisar