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GORDION
The
most important Phrygian sites in Anatolia are to be
found in the provinces of Ankara, Eskisehir and Afyon.
Yassihoyuk (Gordion) was the capital of Phrygia and
the place were Alexander the Great cut the Gordion
Knot to gain the key to Asia. The tumulus of King
Midas, who turned whatever he touched to gold, can be
visited here. Nearby, the remains of the ancient city
Gordion, still under excavation, and a small museum
are worth a quick tour. Off the same Ankara-Eskisehir
road is Ballihisar (Pessinus), an important Phrygian
religious cult center. The most important remains are
those of a temple to Cybele, the mother goddess whose
worship was at the heart of the Phrygian culture. The
small open air museum has some interesting sculptures
and tombstones. At Midas Sehri two enormous facades
cut into a rocky promontory once held cult statues for
the worship of Cybele in their niches. Throughout the
area rock tombs - cave like openings - pierce the sand
colored stone. A recently discovered underground
passage leads from the site to the valley below.
Aslantas and Aslankaya were both centers of cult
worship in Phrygian times.
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