Photos of Midas Yazilikaya Archaeological Site & Monument

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Photos of the Phrygian Midas Yazilikaya Archaeological Site & the Midas Monument. Turkey. Photos by photographer Paul E Williams. (TIP – use the icons below the slideshow for thumbnail photos and info)

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Photos of the Phrygian Midas Yazilikaya Archaeological Site & the Midas Monument.

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Photos of Midas, Yazilikaya, Phrygian Archaeological Site & the Midas mMonument, tombs and cisterns, Turkey.

The ancient Phrygian fortress citadel of Midas is located just west of the Yazilikaya village in the Han district of Eskisehir, in the southern part of the Yazilikaya Valley.

Midas Citadel

Midas was built on the rocky Yazilikaya plateau. The citadel fortress measures about 650 m long and 320 m wide and rises about 60-70 m above the valley floor.

The Midas Monument

The most famous monument at Midas is the Midas Monument. This is the largest known Phrygian rock monument, measuring 17m x 16.5m. The rock has been cut to represent the front of a Phrygian megaron building with a low pitched roof and a niche carved into it at the bottom.

It is known locally as yazilikaya, which means “written rock”, due to the Paleo-Phrygian inscriptions carved above the rock face above the roof outline. The inscription dedicates the monument to King Midas, and so it is also known as the “Midas Monument”.

The niche probably contained an image of the Phrygian Mother Goddess (Cybele).

The Layout of Midas

It is thought that in the Phrygian Period Midas was surrounded by city walls. Today there are no trace of any walls, but stairs cut into the rock at points around the city suggest there had been some fortifications.

The main entrance to Midas is in the east via the King’s Road (Procession way) . Along the road there are figures carved on the rocks.

Above the Midas Monument is the Midas plateau. Here are remains of monumental altars, vaulted rock tunnels, rock-cut stairways, and cisterns.

In the rock faces surrounding the citadel are many rock-cut chamber tombs, cult facades, stepped altars and niches. The rock cut cult monuments at Midas City and in the Yazilikaya Valley reflect the deep respect and devotion that the Phrygians felt for the Mother Goddess Matar Kubileya.

Midas City, with its unique monumental rock structures, is a very important cultural treasure. Midas is on the tentative list of UNESCO’s World Cultural and Natural Heritage Sites.