CITY OF KING MIDAS

The Phrygians are one of the peoples who lived in Anatolia, cradle of civilisation. They contributed not only to Anatolian culture and mythology, but influenced Greece on the opposite shore of the Aegean, Rome, and many civilisations of the Middle East.The Phrygians called bread ‘bekos’, water ‘akala’ and mother ‘matar’. Like so many of the civilisations which flourished in Anatolia, they migrated here from elsewhere, in this case from Thrace and the shores of the Danube around 1250. It is probable that they made the journey by horseback, since their neighbours described them as ‘a horse rearing aristocracy’.After settling in Anatolia the Phrygian tribes lived a nomadic existence along the coast of the Marmara Sea and in the area bounded by the bow of the Sakarya river.
In 738 BC they established a powerful Phrygian kingdom whose capital was Gordion near Polatli west of Ankara.

They are known to have lived in populous settlements, and to have regarded as sacred the area known as Phrygia of the Mountains - a region of high meadows - in the triangle demarcated by the towns of Eskisehir, Afyonkarahisar and Kütahya. In this mountainous region the Phrygians carved and built many rock monuments, most of which are still to be seen today.
According to legend and the accounts of ancient writers, the Phrygians were a people of advanced accomplishments for their time, in both the technical and artistic sphere. They are credited with such innovations as bathing bowls with raised bosses in the centre, fibulae, tapestry, and superbly crafted and inlaid wooden furniture.

Of the monuments in Phrygia of the Mountains, without doubt one of the foremost and most typical is Yazilikaya. One of the routes to Yazilikaya from Eskisehir is via Seyitgazi, which was a major trade road in antiquity.

On this road is Doganli Castle, which in the 1800s was a landmark for travellers. The name means Castle of the Falcon, due to the fact that the upper part of the castle resembles a falcon’s head. There was a settlement here during Roman and Byzantine times, and under the latter a small chapel was built.Near Yazilikaya are other monuments, including two of importance near the village of Çukurca. One is Gerdek Kaya, a monumental tomb consisting of two linked chambers, with a triangular pediment supported by two Doric columns on the east face.

Arezastis is one of the best preserved Phrygian monuments in the region, lying two kilometres from the village of Yazilikaya. It is carved with an elegant finial decoration or akroterion. The name of the monument comes from the words ‘MATEPAN APEZANTIN’ carved on the façade, which can be read but not as yet understood.

The road goes on to the village of Yazilikaya and the Tomb of Midas.The second route to Yazilikaya from Eskisehir is via Çifteler and Han. The plateau beside the village is covered with ruins known as the City of Midas, on the eastern side of which is a vertical rock face 20 metres high and 400 square metres in area carved in the form of a pedimented façade, with geometric decoration, an elegant akroterion and Phrygian inscriptions which palaeographers have not yet succeeded in deciphering. From the style this great monument is dated to around 600 BC.

By Ertugrul ALGAN

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