Hattuşa is a key site for getting a good understanding of one of the major Bronze Age civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean, contemporary to the Minoans and the early dynasties of the Egyptian New Kingdom.  It is the capital of the Hittite Empire, spread out over a vast area, discovered only in the late 19th century and excavated since then with many of the findings now in various museums in and outside Turkey. 

The site is about two hours drive east of Ankara or two hours drive south-west of Samsun.  The closest airport is in Amasya/Merzifon. Nearby cities are Boğazkale, Amasya and Çorum.  Museums in Ankara (the Museum of Anatolian Civilisation) and the nearby cities are a must to visit if one wants to fully understand the Hittite civilisation and its capital Hattuşa.

The UNESCO heritage sites consists of two parts: Hattuşa and Yazılıkaya.  There are other important sites nearby that you need to visit in order get a clear overview: Alacahöyük and Şapinuwa.

Before going to the Hattuşa site it would be good to stop at the Boğazkale Museum, which is modern and not too big.  It shows in chronological order a small part of findings ranging from the Chalcolithic to the Byzantine Empire.  The Hittite Sphinx gate with two of its four sphinxes, one returned in 2011 from Germany and the other from Istanbul, is the museum’s key attraction.  Also other rare artefacts returned from abroad and are now exhibited at the museum.  

We visited in November 2019, not the usual tourist season; it was raining and quite windy.  This gave the area quite the mystical touch of a civilisation hidden in the mist.  The site is large, it’s perhaps best to go around by car to visit the highlights, like the Great Temple area close to the entrance of the site, the Lion’s gate and its unique pyramidical structure, the Earth gate with its mysterious tunnel stretching 71 meters through an artificial mound, the King’s gate with a copy of a taller than life size warrior standing guard, the Sphinx gate with one original sphinx, two copies (originals are in the Boğazkale Museum) and one lost; from here the view across the upper city and its temple area is quite something.  There are other important sites but with very little to see, such as the state archives where a vast number of clay tablets were found, including the famous Hittite-Egyptian treaty of Kadesh (first ever recorded peace treaty) now in the Museum of the Ancient Orient in Istanbul; and the royal palace. 

The site is open every day, in winter until 5 p.m. in summer until 7 p.m.; entrance fee is 12.-TL (ticket also good for Yazılıkaya).

Yazılıkaya is about 10 minutes drive away, it’s a religious place carved in a rocky hill site, famous for its reliefs depicting kings, queens and gods.  The serenity of its surroundings make you still today understand that this was the holiest place in the Hittite Empire.  The “Greater Gallery” is decorated with a relief showing gods and goddesses. The “Lesser Gallery” is protected by demons with lion heads, human body, and wings.  The most impressive relief here shows twelve gods with very distinct facial expressions standing in a row.  There are also three niches cut into the rock, possibly used for placing gifts, or holding the urns of members of the Hittite royal family.

Alacahöyük, some 35 km north of Hattuşa/Boğazköy was discovered in 1835; it was an important Bronze Age cultural and art centre; fifteen layers of settlement are buried here. At the entrance stands the Hittite Sphinx gate displaying a double-headed eagle and copies of relief work showing the king and queen praying in front of a bull statue, the symbol of the storm god. Most of the reliefs and sphinxes date to 1,400 BC.  The originals are exhibited in the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations in Ankara.

Not far from the gate is the site of pre-Hittite royal tombs dating back to 3,000 BC, one the most important finds for this period.  Rectangular stone-built graves were found here with very rich personal belonging, including weapons, gold and silver containers and jewellery, and animal sculptures made of bronze and clay, now on display in the on-site museum.  There are many more artefacts exhibited in the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations in Ankara.

Best way of getting to Alacahöyük is by car.  The site is open every day and entrance fee at time of writing was 10.-TL. 

Şapinuwa was only discovered by chance in the 1990s.  It is understood that it was the second capital of the Hittite Empire with a royal residence, a religious centre (Ağılönü) and very rich archives from the second millennium with tablets written in Hurrian, Akkadian and Hittite or in combinations thereof providing also vocabulary lists.   You can see the foundations of a partly excavated large building “A” made of carefully carved blocks of limestone and sandstone, which could have been a government building or a palace. Not far from it is building “B”, also large but more of the warehouse type.  Nearby building “C” was a religious structure. One of the recent excavations is building “D” with a four-sided stone slab covered with reliefs showing a king or warrior. 

Admission is free. Also here best means of getting to the site is by car.  Dolmouşes run from Çorum to Ortaköy which is about 3km from Şapinuwa.