A Hittite Open-Air Museum!

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Hello!

We were up this morning about 6 a.m. after a very quiet and peaceful night.  We both had lots of odd dreams though – R is blaming the mushrooms, and I’m blaming the curry!  All good – just odd!  We headed down for breakfast at 7, and it was pretty much standard fare, except that there was REAL orange juice, which made for a refreshing change.  Done and ready to head out by 8 a.m.

The traffic in town wasn’t quite as chaotic as it was yesterday, when we got in around noon, and we were able to follow a fairly direct course out of town and to the motorway.  (I have had enough of taking the D400 through huge mega-cities like Adana!  Stoplight by stoplight…)  Our goal?  The castle of Asativataya Open Air Museum of Karatepe-Aslantas, and their museum, about 95 km northeast of Adana.

We made great time on the motorway, and got off at Ceyhan. 

Beautiful countryside!

Love the mountains in the distance!

On site with water surrounding everything!

It was lovely, warm and breezy, and it was fun driving with the windows open; lots of fresh air!  It took us about 2 hours to wend our way to the park.  Fortunately, it was fairly well signed, and we were actually able to find it on our first try!  The surrounding countryside is indeed spectacular.  We saw field upon field of sunflowers – which we had last seen in France!  But the beauty of the land is just amazing; hills, mountains, plains -- Turkey is a stunning country!

Pulled up to the parking lot, and then walked up the hill ¼ mile to the entrance gate.  10 TL for both of us, and into the museum first.  The museum contained artifacts from the original Neolithic buildings on site as well as remains from the Hittite and Neo-Hittite areas.  

The area had first been discovered in 1946 by a German archeologist, who then spent years supervising the dig. 

Scene of feasting at a banquet

Me and lion!

Storm god!

The castle of Asativataya was built towards the end of the Neo-Hittite period (700 BC) by King Asativatas.  (Once the Hittite Empire had been vanquished and dispersed, circa 1200 BC, small communities of Hittites moved out into different areas but kept with their same religious views and started their own colonies; they were designated Neo-Hittites.)  In this particular case, the frontier castle was built for defense against the hostile nations in the north.  It was also strategically important because it stood on the road of the caravans going from Central Anatolia to Phoenicia, and controlled the passages of the Taurus Mountains.  In other words, an ideal spot!  However, it was destroyed probably in 680 BC, by the Assyrian King Asurhaddon, and the city subsequently abandoned. 

Everyday life

Goats and lily

Ship at sea!

 

Soldiers fighting

Chariot in battle

Lion body with human head and wings

Much of the area was subsequently flooded via a dam project in the 1950’s, but fortunately, the castle was not affected. What is really interesting about the site is that the orthostats, lion gateway statues and other large sculptures are actually still on site, just as they were found!  Apparently, in the late 1940’s and 50’s, the local population as well as the archeologists, fought for leaving Asativataya as it was, and protecting the pieces that the authorities said couldn’t be protected!  And they have done a wonderful job!  Everything that needs to be protected is under roofing that is well done and allows for visitors to see things without blocking the view (as is not the case at Gobekli Tepe).  The guidebook says that they have only guided tours, but one look at us, and I don’t think any of the gentlemen wanted to give it a try in English!  So, we were permitted to wander around at our own pace.  Fortunately, the Hittite Civilization book I got at the Istanbul Archeological Museum has come in really handy to provide us with information – and in the case of Karatepe Aslantas, it literally devotes 12 pages to the pieces on display! 

Me and lion/human/winged creature

Mythical creature with double wings

Man hunting bear

And they were truly superb!!!  (I know I’m going to include WAY too many photos, but I really do love this stuff, so you’ll all have to just bear with me!)  There were lions of several descriptions – including some winged, and also some with human heads with lion bodies! 

More bear hunting

I do like lions...

There was a huge stature of the Storm God, as well as some wonderful scenes of hunting, fighting, as well as feasting with musicians and dancers!  There were also bilingual text slabs written in Phoenician and Hieroglyphic Luwian, the longest known texts in these languages, constituting the key for the final decipherment of the Luwian Hieroglyphs!  And – I’d like to add, we had the entire place to OURSELVES!  Whee, didn’t we just enjoy ourselves!

Me and woodcarver; great spoons!

More lovely countryside!

On our way out, we did run into another couple of visitors.  And, in the parking lot, there is a man who carves wood and sells things – worry beads, spoons, spatulas, as well as water and soft drinks.  I couldn’t resist some of the kitchen things – surprise! – and while we were relaxing, up pull FOUR mini-vans full of school children and adults.  So much for our peaceful surroundings, but we were glad to see that the community is still educating people about their ancient history, and the need to protect it.  All in all, it was an incredible experience!  (Also, added to the fact that we were actually able to FIND it!!)  [The maps in Turkey are a little short on accuracy, especially when it comes to archaeological sites.  – R]

A cute little friend in the road!

Stunning sunflowers by the acre!

We took a fairly leisurely course back to the hotel, and got in around 3 p.m.  I think we were fairly successful in navigating back in through the traffic…although the car will probably sit in the garage tomorrow, as we’re going to do some walking, sightseeing and I’m even going to try my hand at the bazaar…and we all know how that goes!

Not sure where we’ll have dinner tonight, as our guidebooks don’t have many recommendations for some reason, but we will certainly be sure to take pictures to share!

Much love,

m

xxx