It seems like there are daily tours from Ankara but honestly they didn’t seem too reliable and we decided to do a private tour. Unless you’re a history geek, I’d strongly recommend to get a tour guide for this area. We had the best!
We did a day trip and our guide and the driver picked us up from the hotel. It was a very long day but a comfortable drive as you watch Anatolian terrain unfold.
Hattusa, the Capital of Hittite Empire (1650-1200 BC). had 40.,000-50,000 people at its peak and had temples, administrative buildings, various gates like the Lion Gate and Royal Gate, and even a pyramid.
Hittite language is an Indo-European language. Assyrian merchants who travelled through Anatolia documented and recorded their activities and brought writing to Anatolia around 1900 BC. Hittites used both cuneiform writing and hieroglyphs. They used Luwian hieroglyphs which is an indigenous language to central Anatolia consisting of some 500 signs (sometimes called Anatolian hieroglyphs). They adapted Akkadian cuneiform and kept detailed records of treaties, decrees, prayers, myths, and rituals.
Before going to Hattusas, we stopped at Alacahoyuk, another Hittite city. There were four layers of cultures existed in Alacahöyük, which was inhabited continuously since the Chalcolithic (Copper) Age.
The Chalcolithic Age: 4000-3000 B.C., layers 15-9
Old Bronze Age: 3000-2000, layers 8-5
Hittite Age: 1800-1200, layers 4-2
Phrygian Age: Since 750 B.C. in the first layer
No easy way to write my name
Hittites have many significance, as being the first Empire in Anatolia, but I want to mention Peace and Woman rights.
Hittites have signed the first known peace treaty in the history of the world in 1258 BC, Kadesh Peace Treaty. The original is in Istanbul Archeology Museum but you can see a replica in front of the United Nations in NYC. Signed by Hittite King Hattusili and Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses, the treaty pledges of brotherhood, mutual guarantees for peace and promotes alliance.
Hittite Queen Puduhepa was a pioneer by having the same equal duties and authorizations as the King. She was very active in state affairs, political, religious matters performing her duties independently and on an equal footing with her husband. Her stamp is in the Kadesh peace treaty.
Yazilikaya was one of the highlights for me in our Anatolian trip, Sometimes surprises are good but not for Yazilikaya, I'm glad we studied our lessons read about it, watched videos and prepared ahead for what we were going to see. Yazilikaya is an open air, rock shrine where the figures of Hittite deities are carved on the rock. There are two processions, one of male and one of female deities, advancing on either side towards the rear wall, where the principal god and goddess, emphasized both by their positions and by their greater size, meet one another at the focal point of the chamber.
I'd suggest to watch this short video just to get a feel for it how astronomy and astrology was part of Bronze age religion and how advanced Hittites were in their astronomical alignments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FqEW_y6I3U...
Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, is a city you want to visit and leave as quick as possible. Sorry… However there are few very important places that one must see and therefore worth a visit: Anatolian Civilization Museum is a masterpiece and it alone justifies the trip, as well as the resting place of Ataturk and the museum, Anitkabir. It’s incredibly emotional to see hundreds of people flocking every single day, young and old, from different corners of Turkey. Did I say, every single day?
Haci Bayram Veli mosque and Temple of Augustus, standing next to each other, side by side, showing the tolerance and humility. The lovely old city and the famous Ankara houses are not to miss.
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