Cybele, the great Mother of the gods is one of the deities native to Asia Minor. Her worship goes back at least to the Hittite cult figure Kubaba. Her cult centered in Phrygia, but she was worshiped throughout Anatolia as the native deity. Hers was one of the last pagan cults to die out. Her annual festival first came on April 4th and then moved into March during the time of the Roman Empire. Cybele was usually worshiped along with Attis, the god of vegetation.

There are still traces of pagan worship in Turkey in the form of the old beliefs that exist in the villages. One such belief is that of the 'evil eye' or Nazar, which may have originally come from the legend of Medusa in Greek mythology. Also as you see in the picture, in certain holy places the custom goes on to tie a tissue or piece of clothing on a tree in a sacred place.

Above - picture of
wishing tree at Pergamon.