Turkey Guide
North Central Anatolia
Hattuşa
Enclosed by six-kilometre-long walls, Hattuşa was, by the standards of the time, an immense city, and its scale is still awe-inspiring today. The site was originally occupied by the Hatti, who established a settlement here around 2500 BC. The Hittites moved in after their conquest of central Anatolia, making it their capital from about 1375 BC onwards, during the period when their empire reached its greatest extent. By 1200 BC the influence of the Sea Peoples had put an end to Hittite dominance of the region. Hattuşa was destroyed and later the Phrygians built a large city on the site.
The Hittite city was unearthed by archeologists during the first half of the nineteenth century. It occupies a steeply sloping expanse dotted with rocky outcrops, to the southwest of modern Boğazkale. Of the numerous buildings once scattered over a wide area, only the limestone foundation blocks survive. The vulnerable upper parts, originally consisting of timber frames supporting clay brick walls, have long since vanished. The main points of interest, all conveniently linked by a metalled road, are the Büyük Mabet (Great Temple), just outside the modern village, the section of wall with three gateways at the southern extremity of the site and the Büyük Kale (Great Fortress).
Approaching the site from the village square takes you past a freshly reconstructed section of the old city wall (paid for with Japanese money) and leads to a ticket office (daily 8am–5pm, 7pm in summer; 3YTL joint ticket for Hattuşa and Yazılıkaya, 3YTL per car).