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Yazılıkaya (lit. 'inscribed rock'), Phrygian Yazılıkaya, or Midas Kenti (Midas city) is a village in Eskişehir Province, Turkey known for its Phrygian archaeological remains and inscription mentioning Midas.
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The ancient remains are sometimes called the Midas Monument or Midas City and were formerly identified as the tomb of Midas.
Yazılıkaya is about 27 km south of Seyitgazi, 66 km south of Eskişehir, and 51 km north of Afyonkarahisar.
The Midas Monument
The most prominent part of the Midas Monument is a high rock-cut facade with an incised decoration apparently showing a pedimented temple front with acroteria, faced with terra cotta and with a niche at the bottom center. The niche's walls bear graffiti reading Matar (Mother, i.e. the goddess Cybele) and it probably held a statue of Cybele.
The monument carries a dedication in Old Phrygian by Ates son of Arkias to Midas (ΜΙΔΑΙ ϜΑΝΑΚΤΕΙ), and probably dates from the 7th or 6th century BCE.
Excavation history
The site was excavated by the French Archaeological Institute immediately before and after the Second World War, and also in the 1990s by the Eskişehir Museum.
