BOGAZKALE (HATTUSAS)

Hattusas, the capital of the Hittite Empire is situated overlying a terrace and a huge crag rising above the present-day village known either as Bogazkoy or Bogazkale.
Hattusas is derived from Hattus, the original name given to it by the Hatti people, who
spoke an agglutinated language like Sumerian. The oldest Hittite document discovered
at Bogazkoy reveals that Hattusas was devastated at the beginning of the 18th century
B.C. by Anitta Kussara who was the greatest Hittite King during the time of the
city-states. Fragments of the Epic of Gilgamish were also found during excavations at
Bogazkale. YAZILIKAYA - the ancient sanctuary of the Hittite Empire, today called
Yazilikaya lies 2km. northeast of Hattusas. It was a natural rock shrine, open to the sky. The gods come to life in the rock gallery carved into the cliff face that represents the Hittite pantheon.