BIKE CLASSICAL: Fraktin: Hittite Paradise

Photos by Jack A. Waldron

I faced a steep uphill battle after leaving Kayseri, because I decided to cycle directly south over Mount Erciyes, the Turkish adoption from the ancient Greek, 'Argaeus', as it was known in ancient times, Mount Argaeus. Fortunately, I wouldn't have to ascend the summit of this volcano, which peaks at 12,851 feet, or 3,917 meters. The prominence of Mount Argaeus allows a crossing at 7,936 feet, or 2,419 meter, so thank the gods for that! The etymology of the name lies in Greek, and comes from Argaios, meaning "bright", or "white". Successfully reaching the prominence (after pushing the bike up the mountain by hand in a few sections), I snapped the photo above with the peak behind me . . . , what a beautiful day.

I've included a photo of the Kayseri Archeological Museum here (pictured above), not only because it's worthy of exploration, but there is also an excellent copy of the Fraktin Hittite Relief in the museum courtyard (pictured below).

Funny story, I didn't used to do much preparational research before heading off cycling for the summer, so, when I saw this relief at the museum, I had no idea what it was. Why is this funny? After seeing this copy of the Fraktin relief, I decided then and there that my first destination after Kayseri had to be Fraktin, so my whole plan was altered!

I will explain the meaning of the relief further down, but first, I need to make it over the mountain, which saw me pushing my bicycle up hill around some sharp turns as I climbed. It's rare to have to push my Surly, but on occasion it is the only way forward. The temperature drop was also quite steep, and required some extra clothing . . . , after the heat from pushing dissipated!

I was hoping for one of those long slow drawn out descents to the lower plain, because the feeling of going on and on without peddling for several kilometers is truly one of the best feelings for a tour cyclist. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Coming down the mountain was fast, furious, and short lived.

By the time I reached the road sign pointing out the direction to Fraktin, which is located near the village of Gumusoren, I was pretty tired from my mountain crossing, but twenty-one kilometers didn't seem too far, so I kept going, and going, and going. This was probably the longest twenty-one kilometers I have ever experienced.

That said, cycling Turkey in the summer is magical, regardless of the uncovered trucks carrying gravel and sand. BTW, just three weeks prior to my writing this, a couple were tour cycling through Adiyaman, and the woman was hit by a truck, and has severe head trauma. I don't know if she's still alive as of this writing.

Pictured above, the sunken Fraktin Valley with its marshes, farm fields and protected antiquities, stretches out following the river that cut and shaped it. It is a sunken fertile oasis watered by a tributary of the mighty Zamanti River, and is surrounded by a very dry and wind swept climate. Late in the afternoon, I finally made it to the ancient site, and this old rusty sign pointed to where the raised expanse meets the edge of the sunken valley, and this was the only indication I had arrived (pictured below).

There was once an ancient city here, most certainly because of the water supply, which made this location an historically important stop along the Cilicia route, which ran south through the small pass at Gezbeli, and east to ancient Comana Chryse and on to ancient Melitene.

If you look at the bedrock protruding out of the soil, you'll notice some long parallel grooves cut into the surface. These are tracks cut into the rock over a very long period of time by successive cart use for the transport of goods, military supplies and personnel and so on. The ancient historian Strabo of Amasia referred to this place as 'Dastarcon', which can be seen in the bottom center of this map (pictured below) of Ancient Greek and Roman cities.

Pictured below, a shot of Mount Argaeus (Mt. Erciyes) from Fraktin, or ancient Dastarcon (sometimes spelled, 'Dastarkon'). In the foreground of the photo is the ground level, while the deep green is the sunken valley, which is many meters below at the river level. The valley is surrounded by shear walls, and it's on these walls between the two levels where the Fraktin Relief can be found.

At the edge of the cliff in the direction the sign points, can be found a rusty old rickety steel staircase that leads down to the watery marsh that covers the whole area in front of the relief. Taking a photo of the whole relief without sinking in the wetland is/was quite a challenge.

Also, if you don't come at the right time of day, you won't catch the highlighted shadows that the relief can throw from the sunlight. I just missed it . . . , poor timing, but I think you can still make out the scene in these photos. As the Hittites held mountains sacred, this relief faces northwest, towards Mount Erciyes.

It may be difficult to understand the size of the relief from these photos, but it measures approximately 1.3 meters in height, and 3.2 meters in length, and contains two groupings of figures engaged in religious ceremonies (left and middle), and a third section on the right end, which is suspected to be unfinished.

The left grouping depicts the Hittite Storm God (holding a crook in his right hand) receiving a libation as an offering from Hattusili III (as both identities are stated in the hieroglyphic symbols in front of their heads).

The Hittite king is pouring the offering from a beaked flagon into a vessel in front of an altar that separates the two. Sitting on the altar is thought to be an offering of bread, from which the Storm God is receiving in his left hand.

The pointed hats that both are wearing is a sign of divinity, which for Hattusili III, would indicate that this relief was probably made after his death, most likely by his son and successor Tudhaliya IV, in the mid-13th century BCE.

In the middle grouping (pictured below), the wife of Hattusili III, Tawannanna Puduhepa (right) is dressed in her priestess robes, and is offering a libation from a bird-shaped vessel to the Sun goddess Hebat (left).

The identities of both figures are revealed in the hieroglyphic symbols positioned in front of their heads. There is an altar situated between them, on top of which is a bird-shaped figure, probably a vessel.

Further, there appears to be an offering of bread, both on the altar and a piece held in the hand of the Sun goddess. It also seems to me, that the Sun goddess may be holding a cup.

The somewhat rougher condition of the middle relief (when compared to the relief at the left) may indicate that it was not completely finished.

The grouping further right is thought to be an unfinished Luwian hieroglyph inscription, and reads (as translated by Hans Guterbock): "daughter of the country of Kizzuwatna, beloved of the gods".

The "daughter" in the transcript may refer to Puduhepa, the daughter of a priest from Kizzuwatna, in the land of Cilicia. Pictured above, a full view of the far right grouping.

Here (above and below) are close-ups of the far right grouping. Again, if you can time your visit, there will be an opportunity to photograph the relief with nice shadows from the sun.

I camped within the valley depression not too far from the relief, which is impossible to do when dealing with more touristic locations. Being a tour cyclist affords a lot of stealthiness, and the ability to fly under the radar.

In the morning (before I snapped these photos), I was woken by a farmer who was sloshing in the irrigation ditches that were surrounding my tent.

I would have liked to wait for the sun to reach the correct position for the best shadows on these reliefs, but, a bicycle dictates that the road is waiting, and that there are distances to be covered in order to reach the next ancient site.

Early Bronze Age pottery from the Anatolian region falls into the time period of the Hittites. The vessels pictured here did not have descriptions of the locations where they were found, but I assume it was within the greater area of Kayseri.

As mentioned above, I visited the Kayseri Archeological Museum before heading to the Fraktin relief site. The best thing about going to the local museums is that they offer some information about sites that would otherwise be missed.

Pictured below, I believe this is a Hittite olive oil separator, though it may have served a purpose in the pressing of grapes, but could simply be a water trough. A series of such separators dropping in elevation would allow the oil to be separated from the juicy waters of the pulp (correct me please, if you have better information).

The relief pictured below was found in Imamkulu in Develi, greater Kayseri, a village not too far from Fraktin, and a place I will visit somewhere down the road. Why explore Imamkulu? On the outskirts of the village still in situ is the Rolyefi relief (not pictured here), which I think is well worth a visit, not to mention, that cycling this area of the country offers specular landscapes.

Imamkulu is where this fascinating Hittite relief was found (pictured above, described below).

Pictured below, a close-up of the Imamkulu Kaya relief. I'm sure you can make out the bull in the upper left-hand corner.

Some of my readers might wonder, why do I focus so much on the ancient sites and antiquities, as opposed to focusing on tour cycling, or nature alone? There are a few reasons, that I will try to explain as I go along with this post.

Pictured above and below, are two Hittite relief that unfortunately bear no description, or transcription. If you have information on where they were found, or what they read, feel free to write about them in the comments section below.

Pictured below, a close-up of the relief featured directly above. Again, I assume these reliefs were found within the region of Kayseri.

One of the reasons I focus on ancient sites while cycling, is because it gives a sense of purpose. Yes, the sport is one aspect, and nature is a given, not to mention the free feeling of rolling down a path with the wind, the sound of birds, as well as the ability to stop and take it all in simply by putting your feet down: but still those aspects alone aren't enough for me.

Though unmarked, I suspect that the Hittite statue pictured above is from the early-mid Hittite period, as its more realistic features are quite different from the statue of a similar pose that was found at Arslantepe in Malatya. Later period Hittite sculpture seems to have a less realistic human appearance, with a bit more added artistry, or artistic bent. Similar to the differences between classical Greek sculpture and Byzantine sculpture.

The gate lions pictured below also appear to be from the Early-Mid Hittite period, and are also unlike those found at Arslantepe (Late Hittite period).

Beyond the vast collection of Hittite antiquities within the Anatolian Civilizations Museum in Ankara, the Kayseri Archaeological Museum can be said to house one of the finest collections of Hittite relief inscriptions to be found in the country.

Pinarbasi is a small village located about 60 kilometers east of Kayseri, and is on a future cycling itinerary. There is a whole roundabout tour of this area that will begin from Kayseri city, head north to a number of Roman antiquities, then over to Kululu, Pinarbasi, and then south.

Another reason I focus on ancient sites while tour cycling, is that there locations take me to places I might not think to go. There is also a hunt involved, which I suppose attracts my more human instincts. Then, there is the cultural connection, as I am of European descent, and these ancient sites fostered the culture/s that have matured into todays Western Culture/s. They are me (in part), and I am them (in part). They are, my roots.

Pictured above, the Kululu I transcription, which features an in depth prostration to the gods, which if not sculpted in stone over a long period of time, I might have guessed that they arrived as the result of a Noah style dive into the fruits of the fermented vine. The Stele itself was on loan outside the museum when I visited.

Pictured above, this is marked as Kululu II, which was very confusing, because there are/were two different stele marked as 'Kululu II'. I was able to discover what I believe to be the true Kululu II (pictured above) through a bit of online research.

I was only able to photograph three sides of Kululu II, as one side was too close to the museum wall. Notice the wooden shives/wedges under the monument, which I hope means that this is not the final resting place.

Pictured above and below, two viewable sides of the Kululu II stele/monument.

Pictured below, the Kululu III stele/monument. The inscription on Kululu III is quite rough in the photo, and certainly better viewed in person.

The transcription below reads "Kululu II", this is actually the Kululu III transcription. How a museum can make such a mistake is beyond my understanding.

By now, you must be asking yourself, where in the heck is Kululu? Again, another village I must visit on a future bicycle tour that is located about 50 kilometers northeast of the city of Kayseri. There are some Hittite remains near the village, as well as an ancient castle.

As you can see from the displays pictured above and below, Kululu Village was an important Hittite center in ancient times. It lay along the trade route to and from Kultepe, and was an agricultural center with an abundance of fresh water.

Even during the Late-Hittite period, Kululu remained important, as did Arslantepe, and several other Late-Hittite centers.

The sculptural finds in Kululu would attest to the need for the Hittites to continue the occupation of this location, even after the decline of the Early-Hittite cities.

The small village of Ciftlik is only about 10 kilometers from Kululu, and was certainly a stopping point along the trade route south from Kultepe. The transcription below is from a stele/monument that was found in Ciftlik, but unfortunately, the stele/monument was on lone to another museum when I visited.

Pictured below, a fine Late-Hittite relief that was found near the village of Ciftlik. When I get the chance to cycle through Ciflik, Kululu, Pinarbasi, etc., and there there are little or no antiquities to seen, that's alright with me, because just experiencing these locations gives solace, and a grounding for these wonderful works.