Mysterious traces of ‘Ancient Road’ in Phrygia

Located in the extensions of the Historical Phrygian Valley in İhsaniye district of Afyonkarahisar, the "Ancient Road" attracts the attention of geologists, archaeologists and art historians from all over the world with its geological structure and mysterious wheel traces that are two meters deep.

Situated in a wide geography in Eskişehir, Kütahya, Ankara and Afyonkarahisar, the 3,000-year-old Phrygia is known for its fairy chimneys formed by the effects of rain and wind in the tuff rock structure, carved rock tombs and monuments.

The historical Phrygian Valley, which has the appearance of a natural open-air museum, has been in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List since 2015.

The route, which is also known as the "king road" and located in the Göynüş Valley of Phrygia, was registered by the Culture and Tourism Ministry in 1994.

The Ancient Road, which is formed by tuff cliffs and believed to have been used as a trade route in the region, reaches the Afyonkarahisar-Eskişehir highway.

Traces on the "king road," formed by the abrasion of wheels and the highest point of which reaches two meters, attract the attention of local and foreign tourists coming to Phrygia, as well as geologists, archaeologists and art historians from around the world.

Claims by Russian scientist and geologist Alexander Koltypin that the wheel traces in the Phrygian Valley might have belonged to a gifted race that lived here 12-14 million years ago had stirred sensation in world media.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Mehmet Tanır said that various archaeological and geological studies were carried out at different times in Phrygia.

"Many archaeologists, geologists and art historians...