UNESCO World Heritage has crowned its 20th historical site, that being Gordion, the ancient capital of the Iron Age Kingdom of Phrygia.
Gordion is located south-west of Ankara and is around 4,500 years old.
Landscape surrounds this once powerful city which now looks like a collapsed crater or a quarry. You can see the outlines of walls which have collapsed, many mounds and there is still a gateway with huge stone walls proving that this was once a great kingdom.
Professor of Archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania Brian Rose whom has been leading digs since 2007 at Gordion stated that “Many people haven’t heard of the Phrygians, but from about the 9th to the 7th Centuries BCE, they dominated Asia Minor – what is now Turkey.”
He went on to say that “Gordion stands at the intersection of the major east-west trade routes: there were the empires of Assyria, Babylon and the Hittites to the east, and to the west were Greece and Lydia. The Phrygians were able to take advantage of this strategic location and became wealthy and powerful.”
According to findings from Archaeologists, they believe that legend King Midas, known as the “man with the golden touch” once ruled Gordion.
The tale goes that Midas was granted a wish after doing a favour for God Dionysus. His wish being that everything he touched to be turned into gold.
Professor Lynn Roller from the University of California whom has been researching Gordion since 1979 stated “”The story isn’t literally true. But many myths have a core of historical accuracy, although they become distorted as they’re retold over the centuries.”
She went on to say that “A Phrygian king named Midas is mentioned in several ancient sources, including annals of the Assyrian ruler Sargon II.”
“The Assyrians considered him a powerful king and a major rival in their efforts to expand their territory during the 8th Century BCE.”
Two hours west of Gordion is Yazilikaya, also known as Midas City, which shows more proof of the existence of Midas.
This site is set on a hilltop and is filled with ancient tombs and caves as well as 3,000 year old staircases leading down to tunnels.
There is also a temple façade standing at 17m tall which has been carved into a rock face around 3,000 years ago with an inscription above in ancient Phrygian which says “Ates […] has dedicated [this] to Midas, leader of the army and ruler.”
The evidence here shows that Midas must have been a real and important King for the local Lord Ates to dedicate this temple to him.
Professor Rose went on to say that “Since Midas was a powerful king, there’s a good chance he’s buried somewhere at Gordion” and that “Finding his tomb would be a hugely important discovery. And the obvious place to look was in one of the mounds that surround the city.”
Source: BBC Travel
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