Αξιοθέατα και μέρη για επίσκεψη Εσκισεχίρ - Top 6

Bülent is such a helping person. He is keen on backpacking lifestyle. Worth visiting if you are interested learning about the local culture from him.

Maybe it's better not to come here at dark for the first time.

Would you like to go for a walk into the 1st millennium BCE? Maybe you'd prefer to go there on a horseback ride, or by bike? The Phrygian Valley is one of the newest hidden gems for travel in Türkiye. Added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List, Phrygian Valley is waiting to be discovered with its extraordinary landscape and serene atmosphere. The valley, which is spread over a region within the borders of Eskişehir, Kütahya, and Afyon provinces today, is home to historical ruins and ancient artifacts bearing traces of the Phrygian civilization. The Phrygians are peoples who migrated into Anatolia from the Balkans, where they first appeared on the stage of history circa 12th century BCE in Thrace. With this movement, they have been the source of many mythological stories ever since. A poor farmer from Macedonia, Gordias was the first king of the Phrygians. For this reason, their capital city near Ankara was named Gordion. You may remember this name from the mythical Gordian Knot. Giving rise to the Alexander Great legend, the Gordian knot was tied by the Phrygian king Gordias only to be sliced ​​in half with Alexander's sword. Nonetheless, his son Midas was the Phrygian king who had a more fantastic reputation. One of the myths emerging from Anatolian lands is King Midas and his ears. According to the legend, Apollo, the god of music, arts, the sun, fire, and poetry, competes with Pan, the god of the wild, shepherds, and flocks. Apollo has his silver, and Pan has his flute. And Midas is on the jury. The sound of Apollo's lyre fascinates everyone. At the end of the competition, all judges favor Apollo, but when Midas votes for Pan, Apollo turns Midas' ears into donkey ears. However, King Midas is most famously remembered in mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold. Apparently, he prayed for this. But according to legend, once he got his wish, Midas died of starvation due to his "vain prayer" for the gold touch. In time, this came to be called the Midas touch. Now let's go back to the valley: The region was covered with volcanic ashes thrown out by Mt. Türkmen, where the consolidated tuff created easily carved rocks, enabling the Phrygians to leave behind many carved rock monuments in the region. Today, the Phrygian Valley is a nature park that passes through 7 provinces and countless counties. It has a total area of 55 hectares. The most beautiful aspect of the valley is that, as it is still a mostly undiscovered route, it offers visitors the opportunity to be alone with nature and awe-inspiring history at the same time. Many say that the booming Phrygian Valley will become the 2nd Cappadocia.

The Midas Monument, or Yazılıkaya, is the most magnificent example of Phrygian rock façades. The monument was named after the word Midai in the Phrygian inscription on the flattened bedrock at the upper left of the monument located in the Yazılıkaya Valley of the mountainous Phrygian valleys in Han district of Eskişehir. Local people named the monument Yazılıkaya due to the inscriptions on it. There are Phrygian inscriptions on the monument.

Gerdekkaya is an impressive portico grave carved into a huge rock in the shape of a Doric temple. These Hellenistic tombs were used by the Romans, but the right chamber was also used by the Byzantine. In 1991, the missing two front columns were reconstructed.

Yazılıkaya is also known as Midas City and offers impressive ruins to stroll through. It was a sanctuary of Ḫattuša, the capital city of the Hittite Empire. You can explore ancient chambers with rock reliefs and rock art showing different gods like the gods of the underworld.

Easy trip but nice places.

Great place for bicycle lovers in Eskişehir. Thanks for all members specially Mr. Hakan, Kadir, Kaan and Mr Osman for their helpfulness and kindness.