Hattusha

Hattusha sprawls across a dramatic, windswept landscape of valleys and ridges near the village of Boğazkale, about 150 kilometres east of Ankara. From roughly 1650 to 1178 BCE, this was the capital of the Hittite Empire — a Bronze Age superpower that rivalled Egypt, contested control of the Levant, and negotiated the world’s earliest known peace treaty (the Treaty of Kadesh with Ramesses II, around 1259 BCE). A copy of that treaty is displayed at the United Nations headquarters in New York as a symbol of diplomatic history.

The ruins cover approximately 180 hectares of fortified hilltop terrain, making Hattusha one of the largest Bronze Age sites in the Near East. UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage Site in 1986. The cuneiform tablet archives recovered from the site — over 30,000 tablets — provided the key to understanding the Hittite language, laws, rituals, and diplomatic correspondence.

When to Visit

Late spring (May through June) and early autumn (September through October) offer the most comfortable conditions. Hattusha sits at roughly 1,100 metres elevation on the Anatolian plateau; summers are hot and the site is exposed with virtually no shade. Winters are cold with occasional snow. The site is large enough that a comfortable visit requires two to three hours of walking.

How to Get There

The nearest city is Çorum (about 80 km northeast) or Sungurlu (about 30 km). Most visitors come from Ankara, which is about a 3-hour drive via Sungurlu. Ankara Esenboğa Airport (ESB) is the nearest major airport. There is no direct public transport to Boğazkale; a rental car or guided tour is required. The site can be combined with Alacahöyük (another Hittite-era settlement, about 35 km north of Hattusha) in a day trip.

What to See

The Lion Gate (Aslankapı)

The southwestern entrance to the fortified upper city features two massive stone lions flanking the gate passage. Carved from single blocks of stone, the lions were meant to be both guardian figures and intimidation — a Bronze Age statement of power directed at anyone approaching the capital.

The King’s Gate (Kralkapı)

The southeastern gate is named for the relief figure carved into the inner face of the gate stone. The figure wears a helmet and carries a weapon; it was long thought to represent a king but is now interpreted as a war god. The original relief is in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara; a cast stands in place on site.

The Sphinx Gate and Yerkapı

The Sphinx Gate sits atop an artificial rampart (Yerkapı) — a massive earth embankment about 250 metres long and 70 metres wide, faced with stone. A 70-metre tunnel passes beneath the embankment, emerging at the outer base. The tunnel’s purpose — postern gate, ritual passage, or defensive feature — is debated. The original sphinxes from the gate were recovered from Berlin in 2011 after decades of diplomatic negotiation.

The Great Temple (Temple I)

In the lower city, the Great Temple — dedicated to the storm god Teshub and the sun goddess Arinna — was the largest religious structure in Hattusha. Its extensive storage magazines, paved courtyards, and massive foundation walls give a sense of the administrative and economic functions that temples served in Hittite society. A large green stone (nephrite) near the temple entrance is thought to have been a gift from Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II.

Yazılıkaya Rock Sanctuary

About two kilometres from the main site, Yazılıkaya (“inscribed rock”) is an open-air shrine with two natural rock chambers. The walls are carved with processions of Hittite gods and goddesses in relief — over 60 figures. Chamber A shows the meeting of the storm god and the sun goddess; Chamber B, smaller and more private, contains a striking relief of the god Sharruma embracing King Tudhaliya IV. The site likely served as a royal mortuary temple.

Practical Information

The site is spread across a large area. A car or the site minibus is recommended to move between the lower city (Great Temple), the upper city (gates), and Yazılıkaya. Entry is ticketed, with a separate ticket for Yazılıkaya. The Boğazkale Museum in the village contains some smaller finds; the major artefacts are in Ankara’s Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. Bring water and sun protection — there are no facilities within the site itself. The village has a few small restaurants and basic accommodation.

One Thing Most Visitors Miss

The Nişantaş inscription, carved into a rock face in the upper city, is one of the few Luwian hieroglyphic inscriptions at Hattusha. Luwian — a related but distinct language from Hittite cuneiform — was used for monumental public texts. This inscription commemorates the deeds of the last great Hittite king, Suppiluliuma II. It is often walked past on the way between the gates.

Hattusha fell around 1178 BCE, along with much of the Bronze Age world. The empire vanished so completely that by the time the Greeks arrived, no one remembered it had existed.