Phrygia (Frigya) Yazılıkaya

Historical sites - Turkey Comments Off
Jun 162010

We will start a tour that covers the traces of the Phrygian Kingdom.

The link to my photo album is at LINK.

The first stop is the Midas City, which will be followed by Gordion and other sites.

Above is the photo of the city entrance, “Yazılıkaya” which translates to “Written Rock”. This is a massive inscripted wall.

The  Phrygian kingdom dates back to 1200 years B.C., and certainly the places we have visited should be world heritage sites/area.

Here is some additional information taken from Wikipedia:

In antiquity, Phrygia (Greek: Φρυγία, η ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians (Phruges or Phryges) initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges (Briges), changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the Hellespont.

During the flourishing of the city-state of Troy, a part of the Bryges emigrated to Anatolia as Trojan allies or under the protection of Troy.[citation needed] The Trojan language did not survive; consequently, its exact relationship to the Phrygian language and the affinity of Phrygian society to that of Troy remain open questions. Similarly, the date of migration and the relationship of the Phrygians to the Hittite empire are unknown. They are, however, often considered part of a “Thraco-Phrygian” group. A conventional date of c. 1200 BC often is used, at the very end of the Hittite empire. It is certain that Phrygia was constituted on Hittite land, and yet not at the very center of Hittite power in the big bend of the Halys River, where Ankara now is.

From tribal and village beginnings, the state of Phrygia arose in the 8th century BC with its capital at Gordium. During this period, the Phrygians extended eastward and encroached upon the kingdom of Urartu, the descendants of the Hurrians, a former rival of the Hittites.

Meanwhile the Phrygian Kingdom was overwhelmed by Iranian Cimmerian invaders c. 690 BC, then briefly conquered by its neighbor Lydia, before it passed successively into the Persian Empire of Cyrus and the empire of Alexander and his successors, was taken by the Attalids of Pergamon, and eventually became part of the Roman Empire. The last mentions of the language date to the 5th century AD and it was likely extinct by the 7th century AD.[1]

Posted by Seyhun Ağar at 11:44 Tagged with: , , , , ,

Various sites - Turkey

Historical sites - Turkey No Responses »
May 222010

This is  a short tour with photos taken from different places in Turkey.

The Gallery link is here.

The photos include Pergamon (Bergama), Asklepion, Sardes, Beylerbeyi Palace, Sagalassos,  Istanbul, Hatay, Ihlara valley, Uçhisar, Enez, Göynük, Şile, etc.

This is from Enez, and shows the ancient Church remains. For the rest of the photos please follow the link.

Posted by Seyhun Ağar at 15:31 Tagged with: , , , ,

Istanbul Archaeology Museum

Historical sites - Turkey No Responses »
Apr 022010

One of the places that must be visited in Istanbul.

The museum was opened in 1891. Founder is Osman Hamdi Bey ((1842 – 1910) was an Ottoman statesman, intellectual, art expert and also a prominent and pioneering Turkish painter. He was also an accomplished archaeologist, and is considered as the pioneer of the museum curator‘s profession in Turkey).

Enjoy the small tour with photos by following this link to my gallery.

The following is taken from Wikipedia.

The Istanbul Archaeology Museum consists of three museums.

  1. Archaeological Museum (main building),
  2. Museum of the Ancient Orient and the
  3. Museum of Islamic Art (Tiled Kiosk).

It houses over one million objects that represent almost all of the eras and civilizations in world history.

The site of the museums actually belonged to the Topkapı Palace outer gardens. The museum was founded by decree as the Imperial Museum (İmparatorluk Müzesi). When it opened to the public in 1891, it was the first one to feature Turkish art. The first curator was Osman Hamdi Bey, who was also the founder of the museum. Since the imperial decree protecting cultural goods in the Ottoman empire was enforced, many governors from the different provinces would send in found artefacts to the capital city. In that way the museum was able to amass a great collection. Upon its 100th anniversary in 1991, the Museum received the European Council Museum Award, particularly for the renovations made to the lower floor halls in the main building and the new displays in the other buildings.

The construction of the main building was started by Osman Hamdi Bey in 1881, attaining its present neo-Greek form in 1908. The architect was Alexander Vallaury. The façade of the building was inspired by the Alexander Sarcophagus and Sarcophagus of the Mourning Women, both housed inside the Museum. It is one of the prominent structures built in the neoclassical style in Istanbul.

The Museum of the Ancient Orient was commissioned by Osman Hamdi Bey in 1883 as a Fine Arts School. Then it was re-organised as a museum and opened in 1935. It was closed to visitors in 1963, and reopened in 1974 after restoration works on the interior.

The Tiled Kiosk was commissioned by Sultan Mehmed II in 1472. It is one of the oldest structures in Istanbul featuring Ottoman civil architecture and was a part of the Topkapı Palace outer gardens. It was used as the Imperial Museum between 1875 and 1891 before the collection moved to the newly constructed main building. It was opened to public in 1953 as a museum of Turkish and Islamic art, and was later incorporated into the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.

Collection:

The ornate Alexander Sarcophagus, once believed to be prepared for Alexander the Great, is among the most famous pieces of ancient art in the museum.[2] The Kadesh Peace Treaty (1258 BCE), signed between Ramesses II of Egypt and Hattusili III of the Hittite Empire, is another favourite of the visitors. It is the oldest known peace treaty in the world, and a giant poster of this tablet (treaty) is on the wall of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

The museum has a large collection of Turkish, Hellenistic and Roman artifacts. The most prominent artifacts exhibited in the museum include:

Posted by Seyhun Ağar at 10:45 Tagged with: , , ,

3 Şerefeli Cami (Mosque) in Edirne, Turkey

Historical sites - Turkey No Responses »
Mar 092010

Another mosque from Edirne.

This is an Ottoman mosque in Edirne, Turkey. It was built from the order of Sultan Murat II. The mosque is located in the historical center of the city, close to other prominent historical mosques, Selimiye Mosque and Old Mosque. The name refers to unusual minaret with three balconies

Follow this link to the Gallery.

Here is one photo attached:

Posted by Seyhun Ağar at 21:29 Tagged with: , , , ,

Sardes ancient city, Sart-Turkey

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Feb 242010

Turkey is full of major ancient cities, because it’s located at the junction of trading between the east and the west.

Sardes is one of the most important of these cities, since it was the capital of Lydia, where first coins were issued in the history. Later on, it became onr of the important cities of the Roman Empire.

Follow this link to the Sardes Photos

The photo shows Gymnasium from the Roman period.

From Wikipedia:

Sardis, also Sardes (Lydian: Sfard, Greek: Σάρδεις, Persian: Sparda), modern Sart in the Manisa province of Turkey, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, one of the important cities of the Persian Empire, the seat of a proconsul under the Roman Empire, and the metropolis of the province Lydia in later Roman and Byzantine times. As one of the Seven churches of Asia, it was addressed by the author of the Book of Revelation in terms which seem to imply that its population was notoriously soft and fainthearted. Its importance was due, first to its military strength, secondly to its situation on an important highway leading from the interior to the Aegean coast, and thirdly to its commanding the wide and fertile plain of the Hermus.

The earliest reference to Sardis is in the The Persians of Aeschylus (472 BC); in the Iliad the name Hyde seems to be given to the city of the Maeonian (i.e. Lydian) chiefs, and in later times Hyde was said to be the older name of Sardis, or the name of its citadel. It is, however, more probable that Sardis was not the original capital of the Maeonians, but that it became so amid the changes which produced the powerful Lydian empire of the 8th century BC.

The city was captured by the Cimmerians in the 7th century, by the Persians and by the Athenians in the 6th, and by Antiochus III the Great at the end of the 3rd century. In the Persian era Sardis was conquered by Cyrus the Great and formed the end station for the Persian Royal Road which began in Persepolis, capital of Persia. During the Ionian Revolt, the Athenians burnt down the city. Sardis remained under Persian domination until it surrendered to Alexander the Great in 334 B.C..

Once at least, under the emperor Tiberius, in 17 AD, it was destroyed by an earthquake; but it was always rebuilt. It was one of the great cities of western Asia Minor until the later Byzantine period.

A photo showing the toilets: (Probably from the Byzantine period)

The early Lydian kingdom was far advanced in the industrial arts and Sardis was the chief seat of its manufactures. The most important of these trades was the manufacture and dyeing of delicate woolen stuffs and carpets. The stream Pactolus which flowed through the market-place “carried golden sands” in early antiquity, in reality gold dust out of Mt. Tmolus; later, trade and the organization of commerce continued to be sources of great wealth. After Constantinople became the capital of the East, a new road system grew up connecting the provinces with the capital. Sardis then lay rather apart from the great lines of communication and lost some of its importance. It still, however, retained its titular supremacy and continued to be the seat of the metropolitan bishop of the province of Lydia, formed in 295 AD. It is enumerated as third, after Ephesus and Smyrna, in the list of cities of the Thracesion thema given by Constantine Porphyrogenitus in the 10th century; but over the next four centuries it is in the shadow of the provinces of Magnesia-upon-Sipylum and Philadelphia, which retained their importance in the region.

After 1071 the Hermus valley began to suffer from the inroads of the Seljuk Turks but the successes of the general Philokales in 1118 relieved the district and the ability of the Comneni dynasty together with the gradual decay of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum retained it under Byzantine dominion. When Constantinople was taken by the Venetians and Franks in 1204 Sardis came under the rule of the Byzantine Empire of Nicea. However once the Byzantines retook Constantinople in 1261, Sardis with the entire Asia Minor was neglected and the region eventually fell under the control of Ghazi (Ghazw) emirs, the Cayster valleys and a fort on the citadel of Sardis was handed over to them by treaty in 1306. The city continued its decline until its capture (and probable destruction) by the Mongol warlord Timur in 1402.

Posted by Seyhun Ağar at 14:22 Tagged with: , , , , , ,

Zeugma/Belkıs in Turkey

Historical sites - Turkey No Responses »
Feb 152010

Here are photos from my recent trip to Gaziantep.

You may visit the Gallery Link. The first 2 items are the most precious pieces. First one is “Gypsy Girl” and the second one is “Mars”,  Roman’s war God. The Mars statue found in Zeugma is probably one of the best versions ever known. The eyes are made from silver with surrounding gold, while the main statue is bronze.

Information about “Mars” taken from Wikipedia:

Mars was the Roman god of war, the son of Juno and Jupiter, husband of Bellona, and the lover of Venus. He was the most prominent of the military gods that were worshipped by the Roman legions. The martial Romans considered him second in importance only to Jupiter (their main god). His festivals were held in March (named for him) and October. As the word Mars has no Indo-European derivation, it is most likely the Latinised form of the agricultural Etruscan god Maris. Initially Mars was a Roman god of fertility and vegetation and a protector of cattle, fields and boundaries and farmers. In the second century BC, the conservative Cato the Elder advised “For your cattle, for them to be healthy, make this sacrifice to Mars Silvanus you must make this sacrifice each year”.[1] Mars later became associated with battle as the growing Roman Empire began to expand, and he came to be identified with the Greek god Ares. Unlike his Greek counterpart, Mars was generally revered and rivaled Jupiter as the most honoured god. He was also the tutelary god of the city of Rome. As he was regarded as the legendary father of Rome’s founder, Romulus, it was believed that all Romans were descendants of Mars.

And the photo on the right is the famous “Gypsy Girl”, a small piece of the mosaic from Zeugma.

Also some genaral information about Zeugma:

The ancient city of Zeugma was originally founded as a Greek settlement by Seleucus I Nicator, one of the generals of Alexander the Great, in 300 BC. King Seleucus almost certainly named the city Seleucia after himself; whether this city is, or can be, the city known as Seleucia on the Euphrates or Seleucia at the Zeugma is disputed. The population in the city at its peak was approximately 80,000.

In 64 BC Zeugma was conquered and ruled by the Roman Empire and with this shift the name of the city was changed into Zeugma, meaning “bridge-passage” or “bridge of boats”. During Roman rule, the city became one of the attractions in the region, due to its commercial potential originating from its geo-strategic location because the city was on the Silk Road connecting Antioch to China with a quay or pontoon bridge across the river Euphrates which was the border with the Persian Empire until the late 2nd century.

In 256, Zeugma experienced an invasion and it was fully destroyed by the Sassanid king, Shapur I. The invasion was so dramatic that Zeugma was not able to recover for a long time. To make the situation even worse, a violent earthquake buried the city beneath rubble. Indeed, the city never regained the prosperity once achieved during the Roman rule.

Zeugma and environs remained part of the Roman empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries the city was ruled by the Early Byzantium or Eastern Roman Empire. As a result of the ongoing Arab raids the city was abandoned once again. Later on, in the 10th and 12th centuries a small Abbasid residence settled in Zeugma.

Finally a village called Belkis was founded in the 17th century.

Posted by Seyhun Ağar at 22:54 Tagged with: , , , ,

Pergamon, near Bergama-Turkey

Historical sites - Turkey No Responses »
Feb 052010

Bergama, Ancient Pergamon

The gallery link is here. More photos will be added in a short time.

From Wikipedia:
Pergamon, Pergamum or Pérgamo (in Greek, Πέργαμος) was an ancient Greek city in modern-day Turkey, in Mysia, today located 16 miles (26 km) from the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus (modern day Bakırçay), that became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty, 281–133 BC. Today, the main sites of ancient Pergamon are to the north and west of the modern city of Bergama.

The Attalid kingdom was the rump state left after the collapse of the Kingdom of Thrace.

The Attalids, the descendants of Attalus, father of Philetaerus who came to power in 281 BC following the collapse of the Kingdom of Thrace, were among the most loyal supporters of Rome in the Hellenistic world. Under Attalus I (241-197 BC), they allied with Rome against Philip V of Macedon, during the first and second Macedonian Wars, and again under Eumenes II (197-158 BC), against Perseus of Macedon, during the Third Macedonian War. For support against the Seleucids, the Attalids were rewarded with all the former Seleucid domains in Asia Minor.

The Attalids ruled with intelligence and generosity. Many documents survive showing how the Attalids would support the growth of towns through sending in skilled artisans and by remitting taxes. They allowed the Greek cities in their domains to maintain nominal independence. They sent gifts to Greek cultural sites like Delphi, Delos, and Athens. They defeated the invading Celts. They remodeled the Acropolis of Pergamo after the Acropolis in Athens. When Attalus III (138-133 BC) died without an heir in 133 BC he bequeathed the whole of Pergamon to Rome, in order to prevent a civil war.

According to Christian tradition, the first bishop of Pergamon, Antipas, was martyred there in ca. 92 AD. (Revelation 2:13)

The Ottoman Sultan Murad III had two large alabaster urns transported from the ruins of Pergamon and placed on two sides of the nave in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

The Great Altar of Pergamon is in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin. The base of this altar remains on the upper part of the Acropolis. It was perhaps to this altar, believed dedicated to Zeus, that John of Patmos referred to as “Satan’s Throne” in his Book of Revelation (Revelation 2:12-13).

Other notable structures still in existence on the upper part of the Acropolis include:

* The Hellenistic Theater with a seating capacity of 10,000. This had the steepest seating of any known theater in the ancient world.[2]
* The Sanctuary of Trajan (also known as the Trajaneum)
* The Sanctuary of Athena
* The Library a.k.a. Athenaeum[citation needed]
* The Royal palaces
* The Heroön – a shrine where the kings of Pergamon, particularly, Attalus I and Eumenes II, were worshipped.[3]
* The Temple of Dionysus
* The Upper Agora
* The Roman baths complex

Pergamon’s library on the Acropolis (the ancient Library of Pergamum) is the second best in the ancient Greek civilization.[4] When the Ptolemies stopped exporting papyrus, partly because of competitors and partly because of shortages, the Pergamenes invented a new substance to use in codices, called pergaminus or pergamena (parchment) after the city. This was made of fine calfskin, a predecessor of vellum. The library at Pergamom was believed to contain 200,000 volumes, which Mark Antony later gave to Cleopatra as a wedding present.
Lower Acropolis

The lower part of the Acropolis has the following structures:

* the Upper Gymnasium
* the Middle Gymnasium
* the Lower Gymnasium
* the Temple of Demeter
* the Sanctuary of Hera
* the House of Attalus
* the Lower Agora and
* the Gate of Eumenes

Posted by Seyhun Ağar at 23:24 Tagged with: , , ,

Selimiye Mosque, Edirne Turkey

Historical sites - Turkey No Responses »
Feb 052010

Edirne is one of the former capital cities of Ottoman empire. However it is better known with the Selimiye mosque.

Selimiye Mosque gallery link is here.

In case you are interested in other photos from Edirne, then you may follow this link as well.

A general inner view is given below together with information taken from Wikipedia.

From Wikipedia:
The Selimiye Mosque (Turkish: Selimiye Camii) is an Ottoman mosque in the city of Edirne, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Sultan Selim II and was built by architect Mimar Sinan between 1568 and 1574. It was considered by Sinan to be his masterpiece and is one of the highest achievements of Islamic architecture.

This grand mosque stands at the center of a külliye (complex of a hospital, school, library and/or baths around a mosque) which comprises a medrese (Islamic academy teaches both Islamic and scientific lessons), a dar-ül hadis (Al-Hadith school), a timekeeper’s room and an arasta (row of shops). In this mosque Sinan employed an octagonal supporting system that is created through eight pillars incised in a square shell of walls. The four semi domes at the corners of the square behind the arches that spring from the pillars, are intermediary sections between the huge encompassing dome (31.25m diameter with spherical profile) and the walls.

While conventional mosques were limited by a segmented interior, Sinan’s effort at Edirne was a structure that made it possible to see the mihrab from any location within the mosque. Surrounded by four tall minarets, the Mosque of Selim II has a grand dome atop it. Around the rest of the mosque were many additions: libraries, schools, hospices, baths, soup kitchens for the poor, markets, hospitals, and a cemetery. These annexes were aligned axially and grouped, if possible. In front of the mosque sits a rectangular court with an area equal to that of the mosque. The innovation however, comes not in the size of the building, but from the organization of its interior. The mihrab is pushed back into an apse-like alcove with a space with enough depth to allow for window illumination from three sides. This has the effect of making the tile panels of its lower walls sparkle with natural light. The amalgamation of the main hall forms a fused octagon with the dome-covered square. Formed by eight massive dome supports, the octagon is pierced by four half dome covered corners of the square. The beauty resulting from the conformity of geometric shapes engulfed in each other was the culmination of Sinan’s life long search for a unified interior space.

Posted by Seyhun Ağar at 09:56 Tagged with: , , , , , ,

DALYAN, KAUNOS – Köyceğiz/Turkey

Historical sites - Turkey No Responses »
Feb 032010

Here is the first message regarding historical sites.

This one is from Turkey. While having a 4 days holiday in one of the least known summer resorts, I was of course busy also taking photos.

This time I was able to carry the Hasselblad MF camera with me with a few lenses.  The quality overweighs the difficulty of travelling with this huge outfit. Hope you will like the photos as well.

Kaunos Gallery

Dalyan is a small village right on the Köyceğiz river.

But more important, the royal stone graves and the ancient Kaunos city are all around this small village. Here are the tombs right on the river. The river is actually green as seen in the photo:

You may reach the gallery and additional information regarding Kaunos with the following link:

Kaunos Gallery

Hope you like it.

Seyhun

Posted by Seyhun Ağar at 20:42 Tagged with: , , ,
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