Evaluation of the mountain sacred in Turkish epics in the context of time and space

Mountain cult is an important cultural element common in many societies. It is one of the saints in Turkish culture, mythology, belief system and narrative tradition. Since God is in the sky, mountains are considered close to him with their height. They are used by people for worship, rituals and protection. Heroes and legendary figures live their adventures in the mountains. They progress in their search for wisdom and power by crossing the mountains and aim for the peaks of the mountains to reach their sacred lands. They are important for their height and proximity to God. They are sacred places that harbour power, holiness, iye and ancestor spirit and are the companions/refuge of heroes. While these features reveal that the mountains are seen as a sacred sanctuary, the fact that they are ancestral lands shows the cyclicality of time. So much so that the longing for ancestral lands that we encounter in epics comes from the longing for primordial time. Every journey towards the mountains brings the hero together with his ancestors. The fact that the mountains, which are associated with ancestral spirits, are considered sacred, sacrificed, prayed to and become a refuge is due to the mentioned qualities. At the same time, the belief that the mountains, which are considered important ritual centres, are the home of God is also a common fact. For people, the mountains are the meeting point of heaven and earth. This unification removes the distance between society and the sacred and brings people and God together in prayers and rituals. The human being, who lives with God in the sacred/primordial time, relives that moment when he ascends the mountain. The person who turns towards the mountain feels close to God, a part of God and immortal. Thus, mountains are recognised as sacred places and a 'mountain cult' is formed over time. The temples built based on the mountain; ziggurats, oboes, churches, synagogues and pyramids are shaped with inspiration from it.