The historical Phrygian Valley in Afyon has been an important settlement since ancient times. The Phrygians lived in the region from the 12th century BC and continued their existence here for about 700 years. The historical ruins in the region reflect the rich culture and civilization of the Phrygians. The historical Phrygian Valley is located within the borders of Afyon İhsaniye district, and the place called “Ancient Road” attracts the attention of the world with its geological structure and interesting ruts.
Located in a wide geography covering Eskişehir, Kütahya, Ankara and Afyonkarahisar, Phrygia offers a fascinating view with its thousands of years of history, fairy chimneys in tuff rock structure formed by the effect of rain and wind, carved rock tombs and monumental monuments. The historical Phrygian Valley is seen as a natural open-air museum and is protected as a protected area. It has also been recognized internationally by being included in the World Cultural Heritage Tentative List by UNESCO since 2015.
Wheelprints May Belong to a Gifted Race
The royal road, located in the Göynüş Valley of Phrygia, constitutes a historical route that is thought to have been used as a trade route. The ruts on the road were formed on the tuff rocks in the region and were registered by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 1994. This route, also known as the “Ancient Road”, starts in Göynüş Valley and continues until the Afyonkarahisar-Eskişehir highway. The road is of great historical importance and reflects the rich cultures and civilizations of the region.
The tracks called the “king’s road”, which are found in Phrygia and formed as a result of the wear of the wheels, attract the attention of geologists, archaeologists and art historians as well as local and foreign tourists. The traces in the region aroused curiosity in the world media, along with the claims of the Russian scientist and geologist Alexander Koltypin. Koltypin suggested that these traces may belong to a gifted race that lived 12-14 million years ago.
Scientific Studies
Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Mehmet Tanır stated that archaeological and geological scientific studies had been carried out in the region before, and that many experts from different countries of the world and our country visited the Phrygian Valley. Tanir said that the rock structure and historical texture of the region really aroused curiosity and that further research could be conducted in the following years to reach other data.
Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Mehmet Tanır stated that the rock settlements in the Phrygian Valley bear traces of the Hittites, Phrygians and Roman periods. He said that the Hittites ruled between 1200 and 700 BC, and the Phrygians in the 7th century BC, and that the region was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Tentative List in 2015. Noting that the Phrygian Valley has recently become a center of attraction in terms of tourism, Tanır stated that there are rock settlements in the region such as Cappadocia.
Indicating that the “Ancient Road” is an important point, especially in the Kayıhan town (Göynüş) region, Tanır said that Afyonkarahisar was at a crossroads in the historical process during the Phrygian, Roman, Seljuk and Ottoman empires. He emphasized that the “Ancient Road” was an effective route in the commercial sense during the Phrygian period and that it stretched as far as Eskişehir and Kütahya with its connection roads. Mehmet Tanır explained that, according to the data they have, the area on the Phrygian road is dated to the Lower Paleocene period from a geological point of view, and the rock structure was formed 12-14 million years ago.
Noting that it is thought that the deep marks on the Ancient Road were eroded by the wheels as they were used over time, Tanır said, “In the studies carried out by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Anatolia, Göbeklitepe in Şanlıurfa is thought to be 12 thousand years old. The claim that ‘humans lived 14 million years ago’ in Phrygia, based on the tracks thought to have formed from the wheels that passed over it, does not seem very plausible. Scientific data also does not confirm this. We see that the claims of ’14 million traces’ and ‘intelligent people lived’, claimed by the Russian geologist Alexander Koltpyn, who conducted research on these traces in Phrygia, are basically not confirmed very much.
