Aslantas, a photo from Afyon, Aegean

Photographer's Note

Aslantaş is Turkish for Lion Rock, and there are 2 of them here guarding the entrance to an ancient Phrygian tomb in Göynüş Valley. The nearest town in Kayıhan, 6 km away. "This monument was carved in the northern vertical wall of a cubic rock, about 11 meters high. The façade of the tomb is decorated with reliefs of two mighty lions. The animals are depicted standing upright on their hind legs, as if preparing to jump. Their jaws are open, solidified in a silent roar.

Between the silhouettes of the standing lions, there is a square entrance to the tomb. The chamber of this tomb was carved on a rectangular plan and is decorated in a sophisticated way. Below, at the feet of the roaring lions, there are much worse preserved reliefs depicting another two lions in a sitting position." The necropolis has been fractured by an ancient earthquake.

More information and photos here:

https://turkisharchaeonews.net/site/g%C3%B6yn%C3%BC%C5%9F-valley-aslanta%C5%9F-and-y%C4%B1lanta%C5%9F

Not a well represented area of Turkey with only 1 other post, so here is another.

ikeharel, pajaran, holmertz, papagolf21, pierrefonds, alvaraalto, Royaldevon, COSTANTINO, PiotrF, jean113, mcmtanyel trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

pajaran (102632) 2019-12-11 0:56

Pozdrav.
Lep pogled, interesantan tekst ...
Lepe skulpture lavova na kamenom bloku.
Lepo pokazano.
Lep ulaz u grobnicu.
Zelim vam lep i uspesan dan, sve najbolje.
Paja.

Greeting.
Nice view, interesting text ...
Beautiful sculptures of lions on a stone block.
Beautifully shown.
Nice entrance to the tomb.
I wish you a nice and successful day, all the best.

lousat (129957) 2019-12-11 1:12

Hi Chris,a very old piece of art,not well preserved,we can see well the effects of weather on the lions and of the earthquakes too in the middle. Very interesting post taken in the usual top sharpness,and because as you wrote there aren't more post from this zone. Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

Miguel82 (47106) 2019-12-11 1:29

Chris, that ancient tomb represents a value archeological site. Two lions are carved symmetrically in the rock between its entrance. An earthquake has damaged that necropolis. Fine colors, good sharpness, instructive photo note, regards.

holmertz (92852) 2019-12-11 1:36

Hello Chris,
I have only seen these lions in tourist brochures. Sadly there is too much to see in Turkey for one person to cover everything. This rock wall is incredibly beautiful and another witness to the versatility of some very early cultures. You captured this with very good colours and sharpness.
Best regards,
Gert

Tue (82232) 2019-12-11 2:32

Hello Chris,
A great photo of this ancient rock, in which the shapes of two roaring lions can still be seen. Excellent sharpness, which reveals the details and textures so well. I like the blue sky as well behind the warm tones.
Lars

papagolf21 (152599) 2019-12-11 2:50

Bonjour, cher Chris,
N'étant qu'un simple voyageur, je profite des amis pour découvrir des sites que je ne pouvais pas imaginer.
La réalisation de ces sculptures pour cet édifice particulier est étonnante quant à sa structuration.
Amitiés.
Philippe

Silvio1953 (205719) 2019-12-11 4:29

Ciao Chris, great view of fascinating old artwork, fine details, excellent clarity, splendid light and wonderful colors very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

pierrefonds (103537) 2019-12-11 4:43

Bonjour Chris,

La prise de vue permet de voir les détails du monument et des sculptures des lions. L'image est claire et nette. La lumière donne de belles teintes aux couleurs de l'image. Bonne journée.

pierre

jhm (203003) 2019-12-11 5:28

Hello Chris,

Hello Chris,

An excellent sharp and clear picture, also nice panorama with the big rock as subject
Pleasant colours too.
Very well done,TFS.

Best regards,
John

alvaraalto (42276) 2019-12-11 5:46

Hello Chris,
With this lion rock it has been obviously decided to surrender the monument to the test of time. This has created a beautiful photogenic colour palette of the affected stone and the green of mosses. But slowly the lions will disappear.
Excellent picture
Have a nice day, groet Rob

Royaldevon (75378) 2019-12-11 7:27

Hello Chris,

This is intriguing!
I was fascinated by this ancient tomb, which I don't recall ever having seen before.
The tomb wasn't intended for anyone to explore as the opening was so far above ground level. Maybe, the two roaring lions would have dissuaded them from trying to enter, too.
The two roaring lions are obvious but, as you note, the two seated ones are difficult to interpret.

Thanks for sharing this,
Bev :-)

Sergiom (117241) 2019-12-11 7:36

Bonjour Chris,

IL semble y avoir quelque chose de déchiré dans cette composition. Une brisure comme la séparation d'un couple qui a divisé la maison en deux parts égales.

Amicalement

Serge

jimmyjimmy (5376) 2019-12-11 9:43

Hello Chris

I nice bit of history with the visuals to boot. I would presumme the tomb was randsacked long ago. Still a beautiful piece of artwork.

Jimmy

kasianowak (15818) 2019-12-11 10:39

Hi Chris
Not well represented area of Turkey on TE and maybe not the most visited. I, for one, haven't seen this monument before. The thumbnail looked like a photo of a yellow rock, when enlarged, we can clearly see the sculptured lions. Thank you for your fascinating note too.
Best wishes
Kasia

COSTANTINO (104159) 2019-12-11 11:48

Hello dear friend and have a nice time
and a happy new day
thanks for sharing with us this
ancient monument and useful
notes
this monument was carved in the
northern vertical wall of a cubic rock
and the facade of the tomb is decorated
with reliefs of two mighty lions
welldone
regards
Costantino

PiotrF (52330) 2019-12-11 14:39

Hello Chris,
An interesting view of façade of the tomb with reliefs of two mighty lions.
I like good composition, nice colours and good sharpness.
Good shot, fine presentation
Regards
Piotr

Gerrit (59968) 2019-12-11 18:40

Hello Chris,
Great details of this impressive lion rocks. Wonderful colors and definition.
Thanks and regards,
Gerrit

Nicou (193806) 2019-12-11 21:27

Hello

Ces deux lions en gravure sur la roche quelle vue superbe représentation avec l'ouverture en milieu et cette fente fantastique image
bravo et belle journée
Nicou

ifege (32239) 2019-12-11 22:37

Hi Chris
A good photo of this interesting old carving.
cheers
Ian

jean113 (22047) 2019-12-12 13:08

Hello Chris, it is hard to get an idea of the size of the Lion Rock, especially as you write that the square in the centre is the entrance.
It is a very impressive tomb, and the carving of the lions is beautiful.
The stone shows signs of age which adds to its charm. What a pity that the rock was cracked by an earthquake.
Kind regards, Jean.

mcmtanyel (58830) 2019-12-22 21:32

Hello Chris,
I like your framing of these huge reliefs. Colors and textures are splendid. 👍🏻👍🏻
Regards,
MT