My Journey to Hattusa, the Capital of the Hittites in Turkey

Hello my friends. One of the biggest reasons I wanted to return to Cappadocia was my desire to see this legendary city. Before coming here, I had read a lot about this place and the mysterious Hittite Empire and I had seen the discussions on Reddit. That is why my curiosity was huge. And I had a pretty good idea of what was waiting for me. But after exploring it, I can say that Hattusa is an ancient city way beyond my expectations. This place is mentioned in the same era as Babylon and Thebes and it hosted the secrets of one of the most powerful empires of the Bronze Age. It is located 250 kilometers from the fairytale valleys of Cappadocia that I mentioned on my previous post and 200 kilometers from modern day Ankara.

After a 3 hour journey passing through winding roads and plains, a scene that really fascinated me appeared before my eyes. we stopped on a nearby hill before entering the city. From there we could clearly see all of Hattusa, with its walls, palace ruins and temples spread across a vast l and. It was really hard to believe that life once flowed so vibrantly among these stones and that decisions changing the course of history were made here.

As we moved toward the entrance, after greeting a giant turtle along the road that looked at least 200 years old 🤗, we finally arrived at the lower castle gate of Hattusa, the main entrance to the Hittite capital.

Before stepping inside, I took a deep breath and imagined. I thought about how what lay before me were not just ruins, but the living heart of a massive state. These huge stone walls were built as a fortress within a fortress to withst and any siege, protect the city and symbolize the power of Hattusa.

Our tour started from the Great Temple area. Although it looks like a pile of stones at first glance, one of the most intriguing riddles of Hattusa is hidden right here. This structure, which was once magnificent, resembles a stone maze today. There are no columns or roofs; only stone block cuts that st and out, so smooth and nearly perfect as if cut by modern machines. Howdid ancient craftsmen manage to work such a hard material with this level of precision and smoothness back then? There is no clear answer to this question, meaning it still keeps puzzling scientists.

I do not know if you have heard of the Hittites before. We are talking about a people who established the first empire powerful enough to be compared with Egypt and Assyria. They were experts in metallurgy and were the inventors of the iron weapons that changed the course of battles. Their capital Hattusa was not only a political hub, but also a cultural center. The archives containing thous ands of clay tablets were kept here and its impenetrable fortress rose here.

As we continued on our way, we met a Turkish archaeologist in the Great Temple area who has been studying this ancient city for years. He drew our attention to the unbelievably smooth cuts on the stone blocks. These stones are not ordinary limestone. They are an extremely hard type of rock that is dificult to process even with modern tools. The archaeologist mentioned that making such cuts with the primitive stone tools of the Bronze Age would be impossible.

A lot of questions were running through my mind. What technologies were the Hittites using? Maybe they possessed special stone processing secrets that were lost with the collapse of their civilization. Or as some researchers think, did they use tools made of ultra durable alloys whose secret remains unsolved? The interesting thing is that similar cut marks are found not only in Hattusa, but also in ancient structures all across the world such as in Egypt or Peru. This situation makes me wonder. Was there a shared technology among ancient civilizations that we do not know about? Could it have somehow vanished into thin air?

The Great Temple was the spiritual center of the Hittite Empire. It was dedicated to the Storm God Teshub and the Sun Goddess Arinna. This place was not just a house of worship. It was also a political center where kings were crowned and important treaties were signed. Covering an area of over 6500 square meters, the structure is one of the largest temples of the Bronze Age.

Perfectly round holes with diameters between 2 and 5 centimeters and depths between 10 and 15 centimeters caught our eye on the stone blocks. According to what the guides explained, there are a few theories about what purpose these served. According to some, these were practical solutions opened during construction to fix wooden scaffolding or to pull those huge blocks weighing tons with ropes. According to others, religious rituals were involved; torches and flags were attachedor water in storage areas was drained. Some even say these could be traces of ancient machines, primitive cranes that did not survive to our day.

A huge green stone in an almost perfect square shape appeared before us as we moved through the temple area. Its name is the Green Stoneor or Jade Stone. According to local legends, this stone is no ordinary rock. It is a jade altar with magical power. It is said to heal illnesses, bring news from the future and even open doors to other dimensions. According to another legend, it is the eye of the Sun Goddess Arinna. This mysterious stone, where Hittite priests communicated with gods and kings touched to be blessed before their coronation, is one of the most popular ruins in Hattusa and the debates surrounding it are still fresh.

The stonecarved ancient baths and ritual pools located near the green stone complement this mysterious atmosphere. Leaving the magnificent ruins of the Great Temple behind, we continued our climb toward the Lion Gate and the other high points of the city. I will tell you the rest on my next post. See you my friends.