When one thinks of today’s Turkey, one thinks of a modern country, with a majority Muslim religion and a strong focus on the figure of Mustafa Kemala Atatürk, founder of the current republic. But it was also a key place for other civilizations of the more remote past. Therefore, some of the mythical places of Turkey are also for the history of other civilizations. In particular, some famous places of the Greek world and early Christianity, such as those listed below.
Troy: between the real and the mythological
If Troy is known for anything, it was for the mythical Trojan War, narrated in the epic poem the Iliadby Homer. And that city, of which there is much archaeological information but also a great halo of mythology, was in the Anatolian peninsula, on the coast of the Aegean Sea, very close to the entrance to the Dardanelles Strait. Its archaeological complex is, to be more specific, on the hill of Hisarlik. Today, the Trojan Museum allows you to learn more about the ancient city and the mythical war, and very close to here, in Çanakkale, there is a large replica of the famous Trojan Horse. And in case you were wondering: yes, Homer was also a Turk, perhaps from Smyrna, although there are no documents that certify exactly where he was born.
Midas: his kingdom and his capital, Gordio
As you may have heard many times, King Midas was the victim of a paradoxical curse: to turn everything he touched into gold. He was the bastard son of Zeus and his kingdom was Phrygia, which was located in the northwestern region of the Anatolian peninsula, but he ended up starving to death because of his strange power. By the way, the capital of that kingdom was Gordius, founded by Midas and his adoptive father, Gordias, and in that city was the Gordian knot, which Alexander the Great cut to proclaim his supremacy.
Mount Ararat: where Noah’s ark ran aground
What is now Turkey was not only a reference point for civilizations to its west, but also for others coming from the east. And more specifically, from the so-called Holy Land. And in fact, these places are mentioned in the Bible, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. One of the most important episodes that put Turkey on the map of the Old Testament is Mount Ararat, as it would be the only piece of land that was not flooded by the waters of the Flood and, therefore, where Noah’s Ark ran aground. Therefore, this mythical mountain, which is the highest in the country (5,137 meters above sea level), is a sacred place for Jews and Christians.
The House of the Virgin in Ephesus
After the advent of Jesus and the rise of Christianity, the territory of present-day Turkey also hosted important sacred episodes, and the places that hosted them are today important places of Christian pilgrimage. The best example of this is the House of the Virgin, located very close to Ephesus. Of course, there are many homes associated with the Holy Family, from the famous Bethlehem Portal in present-day Israel to numerous caves in Egypt that served as a refuge for them during their Flight. But according to some interpretations, the Virgin Mary traveled with St. John to Ephesus, fleeing the troubled situation in Jerusalem. And she found shelter in this place where today there is a building, probably of Byzantine origin. This theory is supported, to a great extent, in some revelations that the German nun Ana Catalina Emmerick had in the XIX century, being visited later by different popes.
