After a hearty breakfast and listening to everyone complain about the hotel, we set off for Cumalihizik.
Old village at Cumalihizik
This is a traditional old village – apparently one in seven in the area. We all had a wander around, and bought some bread from an old guy who wandered around with the tray on his head.
Today was a long stint on the bus. We stopped at a small place for morning tea and another dodgy place for lunch (near Sivrihisar). We had Gözleme, which is a cheese pancake of sorts (but hold the cheese). While we were at lunch, there were snowflakes floating through the air. It was darn freezing.
The other main stop for the day was at Gordion – where there is a massive tomb that has been discovered under a large mound.
Mound of Midas Tomb
Originally, the mound was 80 meters high, but is now only 53 meters. You walk through a long tunnel to see the sectioned off burial chamber, where the wood has been well preserved as it hasn’t been exposed to the elements. Across the road is a museum that has artefacts from the various excavations that have been completed. Apparently the burial mounds range from mid 8th century BC through to the 2nd century BC, so there is quite a collection of artefacts to look at. The tomb we visited reputedly housed King Midas at his death (although this is disputed by some). In any event, the tour guide Rashid provided us with some interesting tales of King Midas and the Gordion knot (which was a complicated knot that the locals proclaimed whoever unravelled it would become the master of Asia). Alexander the Great came along in 334 BC and in frustration slashed the knot with his sword – his early death at 33 was supposedly related to his rash alternative of slashing the knot rather than untying it.
History lesson over. We are now in Ankara, Turkey’s capital. It is a lovely ‘new’ city of 4 million people. The tour group has a Serbian dinner tonight – should be interesting. It is still freezing outside, so a little walk to experience the sights was quite sufficient – we’ll stay warm in the hotel thanks very much.