Yazılıkaya: One Of The Most Striking Religious Shrines Of The Hittite Empire

A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com – The fascinating ancient Hittite sanctuary of Yazilikaya (‘rock with writing’) lies between rock outcroppings at the foot of the high ridge east of Hattusha, 170 kilometers east of Ankara and near the small town Boğazköy (Turkish: “Gorge Village”) modern Boğazkale, Turkey.

Lion Gate, Hattusa, Turkey. Image credit: Bernard Gagnon – CC BY-SA 3.0

Archaeologists date the earliest settlement in the city of Boğazköy, which was discovered in 1834, to 3000 BC. Still, nothing is known about the identity of the first settlers of Boğazköy because there are no written documents that could shed light on the local history of this region. However, remains of the ancient ‘Great Fortress’ (Büyükkale) on the east side of Boğazköy confirmed that it later became the acropolis of the Hittite kings.

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