Old rocks.

Each of us had certain things we wanted to achieve during our visit to Turkey. For Sue, one wish was to visit very ancient sites and to indulge her interest in the Hittites and other very ancient civilizations. And so we boarded a plane for Ankara. We were met at Ankara airport by our guide, Cihat, and taken to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.


Cihat and Sue hit it off immediately because they both shared an interest in this time in history. We had to have a private tour because this period in history is not part of the regular tourist trail and Cihat jumped at the opportunity to brush up on his knowledge and share his enthusiasm with a kindred spirit. Cihat is a young man of 23 years but looks like he should be in shorts and long socks. He has completed his university study and National Service and now is trying to establish himself as a tourist guide and has his immediate future mapped out to enrich his experience and to develop his skills. He is also such a nice young man with a real interest in people and a lovely manner. Good luck with it all, Cihat.

The museum was quite interesting and contained some amazing displays from 14 century BC.

Of course, my interest was the pottery.

From there, we were off to Hattusas. It’s the site of the Hittite capital city built around 1600 BC and covers a sizeable area. It all would have gone right over my head and certainly not been on my radar but it expanded my understanding of the scale of Turkish history. Hattusas is mostly ruins but understanding what was there, how they lived, why the site was chosen, how it was defended etc. certainly made it very interesting. Also, many of the artifacts we saw in the museum in Ankara came from Hattusas. Cihat’s enthusiasm and knowledge was contagious and I enjoyed the visit very much.

Another ancient site visited was Catalhoyuk. It’s further south near Konya but dates back even further than Hattusas. Recently, deeper excavations have identified habitation dating back to 12 000BC. To look at the surrounding lay of the land, you just wonder what else lies beneath the earth in the area. The excavations look unimpressive but what they reveal is astounding.

Again, we were the lucky recipients of another private tour because Catalhoyuk is not on the tourist trail and, again, met a wonderful man to be our guide. Mustafa is a retired repairer of Turkish carpets and also a student of the Koran for over 20 years. He is passionate about his religion, his family, his culture and his country. Our visit to Catalhoyuk coincided with the recent referendum in Turkey and we had some very interesting discussions with Mustafa and Cihat about life in Turkey and future directions for the country.

Another old rocks experience was Ephesus, however, it was not of great interest to Sue because most of what was on view dated from only about 1 000 BC and was of Greek and Roman occupations. The day we were there, a tourist liner was visiting and the place was totally overcrowded. It’s a shame because it’s impossible to really appreciate what is on view when being shouldered and elbowed by thousands of tourists and bombarded with jabber from guides in every language. Sue and Caitlin became separated from our guide and could not find the group again thus missing any chance of learning about the site. Ephesus is very much on the tourist trail and we were very spoiled after our experiences with Cihat and Mustafa. Nevertheless, there is a lot to see there and buildings we’ve all seen in tourist publications.

Entrance to the brothel.

The ancient toilet block was of great interest. Apparently, businessmen would conduct commercial negotiations in the relaxed comfort of the heated toilet block. Although the world renowned Library of Celsus looks like the meeting place of intelligent and well informed people (men only in those times), it was linked to a brothel close by via a secret passage. Some things never change! Although much excavation and restoration has taken place there, much more is yet to be unearthed and many years of work awaits archeologists. There is much to see and learn about at Ephesus. It’s a fascinating place and one day is not nearly enough to take in all it has to offer.

Our last site of old rocks was Hierapolis. It is the ancient city on the site of the travertine terraces at Pamukkale and this was one of the places Caitlin wanted to visit.

 The terraces are stunning and are constantly formed as the hot springs flow down the slopes and deposit calcium. They can be seen for miles around and are the main draw card for the area. The supposed healing powers of the water from the hot springs led to the establishment of Hierapolis in ancient times and it was used during the Greeks, Romans, Byzantium empires and through to today. The ruins at Hierapolis are extensive but there is so much more to be excavated. What used to be a sacred pool is now a public swimming pool and we also waded in the water from the hot springs. It was very crowded at Hierapolis but there were some pretty, peaceful places away from the entrance area to sit and soak it up.

Turkey is full of ancient treasures to be enjoyed and explored. The country’s geography and history are rich and varied and what we saw was just a small sample.

Next, Magical Cappadocia.