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Mixed farming (dry-farmed grain, watered gardens, herding) coexists
with archaeological and environmental tourism. Farmers farm, producing
artisanal cheese and yogurt for the growing urban market; children play;
ecotourists hike, astounded by the biodiversity of the seemingly arid
Anatolian plateau; adventure tourists hang-glide off Kızlar
Kayası. Lovely downtown Yassıhöyük is filled with gardens
and trees, watered by the local springs. Daytrippers from Ankara appreciate this
rural oasis a mere 90 km away. Fields of grain evoke Midas's "golden touch."
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Who needs nature? Who needs archaeology? Why not simplify the system, level the tumuli, and irrigate everything? Lower the water table? Not a problem!!!! The oversupply of irrigated onions rots by the dry spring. Wild rue (üzerlik) enjoys the lack of competition in the small unfarmed area of the Midas tumulus. After the land is destroyed, bright yellow apartment buildings will evoke Midas's "golden touch."To zoom in, Zoom
As of 2018, the future is fast approaching. As the village empties, the trees
die, the old mudbrick houses decay. The abandoned hotel project
is hard to miss. Weekenders build on tiny plots. And all around the very bones of
the earth are
dug up.