Road Trip Anatolia : Phrygian Valley Hittites and Pontos

Day 1

We arrived at night in Istanbul where we stayed at the exceptional Six Senses Kocatas Mansions at the shores of the Bosphorus.

Day 2

Actually, it would be a not so minor deviation from our initial Route but we added Bursa so that we have the chance to taste the original Iskender Kebap at the little store near the Ulu Cami where it has been served since 1890.For foodies it is really a must!For a quick stroll around Bursa within walking distance someone can visit Uzun Carsi (Bazaar)the central square,the Buyuk Khan (closed market) as well as the historical Mosque Ulu Cami dating back to the 1300 s.Near Bursa there is a Cumalikizik The historical texture of the village has been well protected and the civilian countryside architectural structures of the early Ottoman period are still intact. Because of this, Cumalıkızık has become a popular but still unspoiled center for tourists.Cumalikizik is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The next area we were about to visit is the Phrygian Valley part of the ancient Land of Phrygia. In classical antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empires of the time.


Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Phrygian kings:


Gordias, whose Gordian Knot would later be cut by Alexander the Great
Midas, who turned whatever he touched to gold
Mygdon, who warred with the Amazons


According to Homer’s Iliad, the Phrygians participated in the Trojan War as close allies of the Trojans, fighting against the Achaeans. Phrygian power reached its peak in the late 8th century BC under another historical king, Midas, who dominated most of western and central Anatolia and rivaled Assyria and Urartu for power in eastern Anatolia

Day 3

We started our day from Eskisehir staying at the fabulous and very cheap at that time Tasigo Eskisehir.We headed south to Seyitagazi where we visited the Seyitgazi Turbesi an ottoman religious complex which encorporated several architectural fragments of previous temples or churches of the Region


Our first stop was at the Village of Kumbet where we visited the Solon Temple or Aslani Mabet the Lion curved Temple at the outskirts of the VillageIt is one of the best-known monuments in the vicinity with its high relief and rich patterns on the pediment. It is referred to as Solon’s Tomb on account of the name “Solon” read in the inscription inside the tomb..the whole area reflects a calm and out of this world Feeling.there are some similarities with Cappadocia in terms of Geological Evolution and of course in religious aspect because in Phrygia there are also monastic communities dating from the proto Christian till the late byzantine Times and the Ottoman Era.


Passing by Oynus Village and the Yapildak Asar Kale (a rock formation) through not so good roads heading east to visit the magnificent Midas Throne at the Yazilikaya one of the most impressive Monuments of the intire Phrygian ValleyThe monument is located on the rock mass protruding forward on the northeastern slope of the Midas City plateau. Local people named the monument as Yazılıkaya (‘inscribed rock’). The pediment and façade wall has rich decorations consisting of geometric motifs. In the center of the monument, there is a large niche symbolizing the door. This is the most sacred part in which the statue of goddess Matar was placed during religious ceremonies. There are Old Phrygian inscriptions on the monument. The first inscription is engraved on the upper left part. The name of king Midas is read here. The second inscription is on the right side of the frame of the monument.


From Yazilikaya it is better to go North to visit the Monument of Arezastis and the Gerdekkaya Aniti and then continue further South.


Arezastis is located 1.7 km north of Yazılıkaya village, about 130 m away from the road between Yazılıkaya and Çukurca to the left side. It is the best preserved of the Phrygian monumental façades. There are three Old Phrygian inscriptions on the monument. The monument is dated to c. 550 BCE


The Gerdekkaya Monument has profound Hellenistic influences.There can be found also the inscriptions from byzantine times Gorgos and Zotikos (Γοργος Ζωτικος) meaning fast and vital.


The next largest part is souther the Goynus Valley where visited Aslantas,Yilantas and Maltas.


Aslantaş is the most remarkable tomb in the valley. It is named due to the lion reliefs on the front.


Maltas or Malkaya is is approximately 750 m south of the Aslantaş tomb. Most of the monument is buried in the ground.

Ayazini is a historical place settled by Phrygians, Ancient Romans, Medieval Greeks and Seljuks. There are dwellings, churches and tomb chambers in rock-cut architecture at the archaeological site.

The name of the settlement, a Turkish derivation of the Greek “Aya Sion” (Greek: Αγία Σιών), was changed to “Ayazin” in 1910.

The location has been used as a settlement since the Phrygian Period. There are family and single-person rock tomb chambers with lion figures and columns from the Roman and Byzantine periods, churches and rock dwellings from the Byzantine Period, thanks to carving-suitable rocks. In addition there is the Avdalaz Castle with a cistern carved into massive rock. After the Byzantine era, the site was settled by the Seljuks. It was reported that there are more than 300 caves in various size used as dwelling and 35 churches and chapels.

Rock-carved dwellings
Rock dwellings from the Early Byzantine Period are found in the entrance and inside the village. The dwellings have single rooms, rooms grouped side by side or one over the other. Some are accessible by steps or by tunnel-shaped passages from other rooms. In some rooms, there are benches and niches of various size for storing objects and candles or oil lamps.

Avdalaz (or Avdılas) Kale
It is 1.5 km north of the Ayazini town, which was once a Phrygian settlement. Avdalaz Kale is a Phrygian fortress built on an isolated rock mass with multiple rooms in multiple stories and cisterns. Almost all of the living spaces carved into the rock belong to the Byzantine period. It had strategic importance in the Phrygian period, as it was the southernmost fortress of the Phrygian highlands.

The afternoon we explored the very interesting city of Eskisehir which boasts a colourful old town, a riverside Promenade and a bustling Nightlife due to the many Students.There is also a very nice archeological Museum . In the museum display, scientific archaeological excavations in places such as Dorylaion, Pessinus, Han Underground City, Yazılıkaya, Çavlum Village, Old Hittite Necropolis, Demircihöyük, Küllüoba (Seyitgazi-Yenikent) are exhibited chronologically with their important finds. Among the exhibits, there are marble statues and figurines, architectural pieces, stelae, terracotta daily use vessels, idols, glass vessels and beads, metal vessels and weapons, jewelry, and coins

Another Highlight of the area is the Odunpazarı Modern Museum at a magnificent strucrure built by famous architects Kengo kuma is a cross-cultural platform where modern and contemporary art from Turkey and abroad is exhibited with a universal perspective.

Day 4

On our way to the eastern Plateau of Anatolia we stayed at the Ikbal thermal Hotel and Spa at a big Junction with shopping center and amusement Park.

Aizanoi (Ancient Greek: Αἰζανοί), Latinized as Aezani, was a Phrygian city in western Anatolia. It was located at the site of the modern village of Çavdarhisar, near Kütahya, on both sides of the Penkalas river.The city was an important political and economic centre in Roman times; surviving remains from the period include a well-preserved Temple of Zeus, a combined theatre-stadium complex, In 2012 the site was submitted for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.


Aizanoi was the capital of Aizanitis, who belonged to Phrygia. There was less information about Pre-Roman period for Aizanoi. It is said that the early settlement in the region dates back to the second millennium BC. During the excavations carried out around the Zeus Temple, settlement layers dated to the third millennium were unearthed. Aizanoi acquired importance in the political sense, during the conflict between the Bithynia and Pergamon Kingdoms. During the Hellenistic Period, Aizanoi was alternated between the hegemonies of the Pergamon and Bithynia Kingdoms and then came under Roman control in 133 BC. Phrygia Epictetos which consists of Aizanoi, Nacoleia, Cotiation, Midaion, Doryleion, Cadoi minted their own coins


After visitingMaginificent Aizanoi we went to Afyonkarahisar


Afyonkarahisar is a city in western Turkey. It is the administrative centre of Afyonkarahisar Province . In Turkey, Afyonkarahisar stands out as a capital city of hot springs and spas,[4] an important junction of railway, highway and air traffic in West-Turkey, producer of pharmaceutical opium.[9] In antiquity the city was called Akroinon and it is the site of Afyonkarahisar Castle.

Day 5

Today we visit another Place with significant historical Importance Gordion.

Gordion

The city of Gordion, capital of the Phrygian Kingdom, is located 94 km west of Ankara 29 km northwest of Polatlı. Findings obtained from the excavations show that there was a settlement in Gordion before the Phrygian Period since the Early Bronze Age. However, the city showed its great development as the capital of the Phrygians in the 9th century BCE, and after the Phrygian period the settlement continued until the 14th century CE. The Gordion mound, which covers an area of approximately 13.5 acres, is located right on the river Sangarios.

The cutting of the Gordian Knot is an Ancient Greek legend associated with Alexander the Great in Gordion in Phrygia, regarding a complex knot that tied an oxcart. Reputedly, whoever could untie it would be destined to rule all of Asia. In 333 BC Alexander was challenged to untie the knot. Instead of untangling it laboriously as expected, he dramatically cut through it with his sword, thus exercising another form of mental genius. It is thus used as a metaphor for a seemingly intractable problem which is solved by exercising brute force.

Tumulus MM (Midas Mound)
Tumuli are one of the burial customs of Phrygians. Around Gordion, there are more than 120 burial mounds or tumuli, most of which belong to the Phrygian period. Undoubtedly, the most important of them is the MM tumulus with a height of 53 meters, overlooking all the others. The original height should be around 70 meters. Its diameter, which is 300 meters now, was originally around 250 meters. It is the second largest tumulus in Anatolia after the tumulus of Lydian King Alyattes which was built almost 200 years after the MM tumulus. What is more important than the size of the MM tumulus is that it has come to the present day without being looted or damaged. MM tumulus is thought to have been built for an important Phrygian king. As a matter of fact, it was named MM as the abbreviation of Midas Mound because it was named after the most famous king of the Phrygians. Most of the findings of tomb chamber are currently exhibited in the Anatolian Civilizations Museum in Ankara.

Day 6

Leaving the anatolian Plateau towards the capital Ankara we are experiencing the Transformation Turkey witnessed the previous decades with the Skyscrapers and the High Rise buildings at the City Outskirts.the day was dedicated to the fabulous Museum of Anatolian Civilizations which boasts a unique Collection of Treasures mainly from Central Anatolia inclunding Phrygia ,the Hittite Empire ,Assyrian and Sumerian relics from Mesopotamia as well as from the Hellenistic and Roman Period.


Ankara is now a modern vibrant City which serves also as the capital of Turkey with many embassies ,Corporate offices and Universities.

Day 7

We have north east direction today to the Capital of the Hittite Empire the mysterious Hattusa.

The earliest traces of settlement on the site are from the sixth millennium BC during the Chalcolithic period. Toward the end of the 3rd Millennium BC the Hattian people established a settlement on locations that had been occupied even earlier and referred to the site as Hattush.[2] In the 19th and 18th centuries BC, merchants from Assyria, centered at Kanesh (Neša) (modern Kültepe) established a trading post there, setting up in their own separate quarter of the lower city.


At its peak, the city covered 1.8 km2 (440 acres) and comprised an inner and outer portion, both surrounded by a massive and still visible course of walls erected during the reign of Suppiluliuma I (c. 1344–1322 BC)


To the south lay an outer city of about 1 km2 (250 acres), with elaborate gateways decorated with reliefs showing warriors, lions, and sphinxes. Four temples were located here, each set around a porticoed courtyard, together with secular buildings and residential structures. Outside the walls are cemeteries, most of which contain cremation burials. Modern estimates put the population of the city arround 10,000; in the early period, the inner city housed a third of that number.


The city was destroyed, together with the Hittite state itself, around 1200 BC, as part of the Bronze Age collapse. Excavations suggest that Hattusa was gradually abandoned over a period of several decades as the Hittite empire disintegrated.

Important Sites
The Sanctuary of Yazilikaya
The Hattusa Green Stone, a monument believed to have religious origins
The Chamber of the Gods of the Underworld
The Sphinxes Gate


Cuneiform royal archives
One of the most important discoveries at the site has been the cuneiform royal archives of clay tablets from the Hittite Empire New Kingdom period, known as the Bogazköy Archive, consisting of official correspondence and contracts, as well as legal codes, procedures for cult ceremony, oracular prophecies and literature of the ancient Near East. One particularly important tablet, currently on display at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, details the terms of a peace settlement reached years after the Battle of Kadesh between the Hittites and the Egyptians under Ramesses II, in 1259 or 1258 BC. A copy is on display in the United Nations in New York City as an example of the earliest known international peace treaties.

Day 8

Heading further Northeast to the Pontos Area we are visiting Amasya the City of the greek historian Strabon,the Pontic king Mythridates

In antiquity, Amaseia was a fortified city high on the cliffs above the river. It has a long history as a wealthy provincial capital, producing kings and princes, artists, scientists, poets and thinkers, from the kings of Pontus, through Strabo the geographer, to many generations of the Ottoman imperial dynasty. With its Ottoman-period wooden houses and the tombs of the Pontus kings carved into the cliffs overhead, Amasya is attractive to visitors.

During the early Ottoman rule, it was customary for young Ottoman princes to be sent to Amasya to govern and gain experience. Amasya was also the birthplace of the Ottoman sultans Murad I and Selim I. Traditional Ottoman houses near the Yeşilırmak and the other main historical buildings have been restored; these traditional Yalıboyu houses are now used as cafes, restaurants, pubs and hotels. Behind the Ottoman wooden houses one can see the rock tombs of the Pontic kings.

Etymology

According to Strabo the Greek name Ἀμάσεια comes from Amasis, the queen of the Amazons, who were said to have lived here. The name has changed little throughout history: Ἀμάσεια, Amaseia, Amassia and Amasia are all found on ancient Greek and Roman coinage and continue to be used still today.

Archaeological research shows that Amasya was first settled by the Hittites and subsequently by Phrygians, Cimmerians, Lydians, Greeks, Persians, and Armenians.


Hellenistic period

An independent Pontic kingdom with its capital at Amaseia was established by the Persian Mithridatic dynasty at the end of the 4th century BC, in the wake of Alexander’s conquests. In the 1st century BC, it briefly contested Rome’s hegemony in Anatolia. By 183 BC, the city was settled by Greeks, eventually becoming the capital of the Kingdom of Pontus from 333 BC to 26 BC. Today, there are prominent ruins including the royal tombs of Pontus in the rocks above the riverbank in the centre of the city.


Roman-Byzantine period
Amaseia was captured by a force led by the Roman Lucullus in 70 BC from Armenia and was quickly made a free city and administrative center of his new province of Bithynia and Pontus by Pompey. By this time, Amaseia was a thriving city, the home of thinkers, writers and poets, and one of them, Strabo, left a full description of Amaseia as it was between 60 BC and 19 AD. Around 2 or 3 BC, it was incorporated into the Roman province of Galatia, in the district of Pontus Galaticus. Around the year 112, the emperor Trajan designated it a part of the province of Cappadocia.[4][5] Later in the 2nd century it gained the titles ‘metropolis’ and ‘first city’. After the division of the Roman Empire by emperor Diocletian the city became part of the East Roman Empire (the Byzantine Empire). At this time it had a predominantly Greek-speaking population.


Amaseia was also referenced in the first book of the Alexiad. Amaseia was the town where Emperor Alexios I Komnenos received the Norman general Ursel as a captive from the Turkic general Tutach. Ursel had, according to the book, looted and pillaged the Eastern provinces of the Byzantine Empire until the at-the-time General Alexios convinced Tutach to capture him. Alexios agreed that he would pay “…such a sum of money as no one ever gained before.” to Tutach for the capture of Ursel, however Alexios had no cash to give and the Emperor was unable to fund it, so he attempted to raise money from the people of Amaseia, however this caused serious unrest. However, after a speech by Alexios, he arranged a mock-blinding of Ursel which promptly caused the people to contribute funds. However, this is likely to be biased.
Saints Theodore of Amasea (died by 319), a warrior saint, and the local bishop Asterius of Amasea (died c. 410), some of whose polished sermons survive, are notable Christian figures from the period.
In 2013, a 24-square-meter Christian mosaic belonging to the floor of a chapel was discovered, near a site where an illegal archaeological dig had been attempted. The mosaic, depicts apples, an apple tree, partridges and many geometric figures.

In the late 19th century, the city had 25,000–30,000 inhabitants, mostly Turks, but also Armenians and Greeks some.


Ecclesiastical history
Amasea became the seat of a Christian metropolitan bishop in the Eastern Roman Empire, in particular from the 3rd century AD.[16] As capital of the Late Roman province of Helenopontus, it also became its Metropolitan Archbishopric and included the suffragans of Amisus, Andrapa, Euchaitae, Ibora, Sinope, Zaliche and Zela. In the 10th century the metropolis ranked 11th among the metropolises of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. From the 12th century the Christian element was reduced due to the Turkic migrations into Anatolia. The Orthodox metropolis of Amasea was active until the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey (1923) and in 1922 counted c. 40,000 Christians, 20,000 of them being Greek speakers. Last active metropolitan bishop was Germanos Karavangelis.


The legend of Ferhat and Shirin

In its Turkish version, this classic tale of oriental folklore is held to have taken place in Amasya. The nearby mountain Ferhat is named for Farhad (Turkish spelling Ferhat), the hero of the legend, who for love of the princess Shirin (Turkish spelling Şirin) tried to win her father’s favour and permission by tunnelling through the mountain to bring spring water to his palace. Sadly, while he was working he was sent the false information that Shirin had died; upon which he threw himself onto the rocks in his grief. And his beloved princess died soon after. The story has since become a play by Nâzım Hikmet, a novel by Talip Apaydın, and an opera by Arif Melikov.The last day was dedicated to my Best Man Triantafyllos aka Ntafy whose Grandparents originated from the Pontos area and the City of Tokat

Tokat is a city in the mid-Black Sea region of Anatolia.
The city was established in the Hittite era. During the time of King Mithradates VI of Pontus, it was one of his many strongholds in Asia Minor.
Known as Evdokia or Eudoxia, ecclesiastically it was later incorporated into the western part of the Byzantine Greek Empire of Trebizond.
Some authors like Guillaume de Jerphanion and William Mitchell Ramsay identified Tokat with the ancient and medieval Dazimon, with Ramsay saying, “Dazimon, which seems to have been a fortress, must have been the modern Tokat, with its strong castle.
Henri Grégoire, on the other hand, refuted this as implausible, because a 13th-century text written by Ibn Bibi clearly distinguishes Dazimon and Tokat as separate places. Instead, he said, Tokat should be identified with the town of Dokeia (Greek: Δόκεια) mentioned in another 10th-century text, by Theophanes Continuatus, which says that the Byzantine general John Kourkouas was born in a village near Dokeia sometime in the 9th century. According to Grégoire, the name “Dokeia” does not have a Greek etymology and probably represents an old Anatolian place name. The supposed derivation from “Eudokia”, he claimed, is only a folk etymology that came much later.
After the Battle of Manzikert the town, like most of Asia Minor, came under the control of the Seljuk Turks.

After so many emotional moments we left from the Samsun airport after a small stroll around the city which today has a little Charme left as it serves mainly as an industrial Hub.
Samsun, city, is the largest city on the southern coast of the Black Sea,
Amisus, which stood on a promontory just northwest of the modern city centre, was founded in the 7th century BCE; after Sinope (modern Sinop) it was the most flourishing Milesian colony on the Euxine (Black) Sea. After Alexander the Great’s conquest of Asia Minor (Anatolia) in the 4th century BCE, Amisus came under the kings of Pontus and continued to prosper until it was burned down by its defenders when it was captured by the Romans in 71 BCE.
Known as Amisos under the Byzantines, it was renamed Samsun by the Seljuq Turks when they took it in the second half of the 12th century. Under Seljuq rule, it surpassed Sinope as a centre of trade between Europe and Central Asia; a large trading colony of Genoese was established there. Taken by the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I at the end of the 14th century, it reverted to the Turkmen Candar principality after the Ottoman defeat at the hands of the conqueror Timur (Tamerlane) in 1402. The city was burned by the Genoese before the Ottomans recaptured it in 1425.