MONUMENT OF THE CHAPTERS

It is one of the world's largest rock monuments and dates back to the Hittite period. The Fasıllar Monument depicts the Great God between two lions in a mountain temple. The Fasıllar Monument lies on the western slope of a small hill south of Fasıllar Village in Beyşehir District of Konya. It measures 2.25 x 2.75 x 8.30 meters. It consists of reliefs carved into a 20 m² surface of a giant rock weighing 72 tons, with two gods stacked on top of each other and a pair of lions on either side of the lower god. The Fasıllar Monument, built by the Hittite King Muvattali, depicts the great God between two lions in a mountain temple. On the monument, there is a god, two lions, and a second god, less important than the first. The god has one foot on the lion and the other (left) foot on the mountain god. Next to the mountain god, there is also a depiction of a second lion, similar to the first. The fact that some parts of the monument are not intricately carved, and some parts are very roughly carved, indicates that it was prepared to be erected in a place where it could be seen from afar. This giant statue, which the local people call "Kurtbeşiği" (Wolf's Cradle), has an important place in the region's tourism. The Fasıllar Monument, with a history of approximately 3,500 years, depicts the Battle of Kadesh between the Hittites and the Egyptians from the perspective of the Hittite King Muwattali. The Battle of Kadesh, fought between the Hittites and the Egyptians in 1243 BC, in which neither side could gain the upper hand, is one of the important turning points in history. The Kadesh Peace Treaty, signed after the war between the Hittite King Muwattali and the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II, is considered the first written treaty in history. The Fasıllar Monument was built to tell this historical event from the Hittite perspective. A replica of the Fasıllar Monument is currently on display at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara.