After a night of jet-lagged sleep, we ate a hardy breakfast at the hotel and hopped on the bus for our first day of touring. Driving east about three hours, we saw rolling hills, expansive green grain fields, and small towns pass by. We finally arrived at Hattusa (modern Bogazkale), the ancient capital of the Hittite empire. They ruled the region from about 2000 to 1200 BC.
Founded about 1600 BC, ancient Hattusa was very large. Today it is a UNESCO world heritage site. Surrounded by massive walls with multiple gates, we worked our way around by hopping on and off the bus rather than walking from place to place.
After lunch we had one last stop nearby at Yazïlïkaya where the Hittites constructed an open air courtyard. Carved on the rock faces are images of their gods. The Hittites had a god for everything, making it known as the city of 1000 gods. This is reminiscent of God’s criticism of the Israelites: “You have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 11:13).
We finished our day driving back to Ankara via the way we had come. It has been an overall easy start to the trip. I’m attempting to record where we’re driving each day for this trip. You can see today’s trip below.
