The Hittite Misthia

Old name: Misthia

If you’re staying in Beyşehir you might like to make a side trip southeast to Fasıllar where the rocky hillside above the village is dotted with monuments both to the Hittites and to the Romans.

The most famous of these is the so-called Kurt Beşiği (Wolf’s Cradle) monument, a 72-ton monolith lying flat on the ground with carvings of two gods standing one on top of the other and two lions on it. It’s actually very difficult to see close up. Luckily there is an upright replica in the grounds of the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations in Ankara. Some archaeologists think the monument may have been intended to go on top of the stone block at Eflatunpınar, further north.

Facing it across the valley is the much easier to see Atlıkaya (Rock with a Horse) monument believed from the Greek inscription on the rock nearby to immortalise a man called Lucien who died young. The horse and its trappings are carved in considerable detail and there’s an arched niche beside it. Further along another monument is more worn but appears to include a small bust of a person, while there’s another Greek inscription on a rock further down the hillside right beside the road. atlikaya

The drive to Fasıllar passes through the village of Çiçekler (Flowers) where it’s worth taking a stroll round the village to admire the pretty stone houses, some incorporating pieces of Roman masonry in the walls. One village fountain appears to reuse both Hittite and Roman stones.

Transport info

Without your own car you will be dependent on taxi drivers from Beysehir to get you to Fasıllar. It’s unlikely to be a cheap excursion.

Read more about the Fasıllar area: http://www.turkeyfromtheinside.com/blogbloggingaboutturkey/entry/72-meeting-the-old-men-of-%E2%80%9Cflowers%E2%80%9D.html

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