Kutahya to Hattusha
Monday, May 5, 2014
Hello!
Sleep for me last night was very, very difficult. I felt like a little kid on Christmas Eve,
anxious to get up and see the ruins of the former Hittite capital city,
Hattusha! Very difficult to get to
sleep! However, finally, up this morning
about 6 with the help of the alarm clock.
As we had a long way to go today, we wanted to get an early start. I was hoping for 7, but 7:30 was actually a
bit more like it. Showered and repacked
and down to breakfast. We literally had
the entire place to ourselves, as no one ever did show up! So, we helped ourselves to the usual –
cheese, bread, -- and wonderful apricot juice!
I’ve never had that before, and it was great!
Checked out and on the road by 7:30 a.m. We headed first to a Hittite site called
Gavurekale, just a bit southwest of Ankara.
By that time, it was absolutely POURING rain, and didn’t look much like
it would let up. We followed the
instructions we had to the approximate location, and the needed to get out and
walk … and believe me, this was not a walking kind of day! Made it approximately ½ km, and were getting
thoroughly soaked amid lots and lots of slippery mud – no directional signs or
indications we were even walking in the right direction, so we abandoned the
search and returned to the car. Much dryer
inside, for sure! 
Decided to head to Hattusha, the Hittite homeland, where we
are staying for the next two nights.
Made it around the south of Ankara – a really huge city! – and headed
out the east side. Oh! Do need to point out that, by this time, we were
on the regular highway, as opposed to the freeway – and I came around a corner,
and voila, a huge COW walking right in the middle of the road! Both we and a truck managed to stop in time –
not something we usually have to deal with at home!
Made it to Bogazkale/Hattusha around 3 and pulled in to our
hotel, the Baskent. Just lovely! (To recount, the last time we were here, we
were booked into the Kale Hotel for 2 nights, and it was just TERRIBLE! Carpets that didn’t match, not much furniture
or bathroom to speak of – and we bailed after one night! Went down the hill to the Askoglu Hotel,
where things were a bit better, but still not really good….so I was a bit
nervous booking us in at the Baskent!)
However! The Baskent is
great! We’re in room 203, with a lovely
view to the ruins. Comfortable, clean
and modern bathroom and furniture; great wi-fi access, etc. Very, very pleased!
Dropped things in the room, and then headed out for a tour
of Hattusha. Back down the hill, and
once again, we were THERE! Wow! And talk about having the place to
ourselves!!
Toured the lower city first – revisited the green stone, the
large temple, and walked around the ruins of the truly huge pithos (terra-cotta
jars) that we remembered from last time.
Even shared one of the buildings with a stray grazing cow or two! Then headed up the road – King’s Gate, Sphinx
Gate, Lion’s Gate, etc. It did start to rain as we were heading down
the hill, so we made our final stop at a new site – an 11-line inscription
recently excavated near to the road – and then headed back to the hotel.
Still a bit chilly inside, so we were provided with a very
nice electric heater! All toasty and
warm now!
As we were also starving – no lunch again today – we will
get that right soon, I’m sure! But as I
think we’re the only guests here at the moment, no problem with them getting
dinner for us early! Yipee!!
So – started with wonderful tomato soup, and filled up on
salad – tomatoes, parsley, cucumbers and onion – with incredibly tender chicken
dish with rice and egg plant…all washed down by several glasses of red and
white wine. Absolutely EXCELLENT! Will be happy to eat here again, that’s for
sure!
Then, back to our room, so that we can catch up on our
Hittite reading, blog and figure out what we’re doing tomorrow. The forecast (hopefully) calls for sunnier
weather, so hope that holds! We’re
hopeful of going back to Hattusha to spend a bit more time, and then the museum
in town, Yazilikaya, a site a couple of km from here, as well as Alaca Hoyuk,
about 23 km away…all in one day! Wish us
luck!
Lots of love,
m
xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment