Boğazköy

It is situated to the south of the settlement Bogazkale in the province of Corum in Central Anatolia. The name of the city in the Scythian/Khatti language is "Khattuassa" meaning "the Castle of Khattis". In the Khatti language their name also means "silver". The name of the city which is situated between the ancient Galatia-Cappadocia subsequently became Hattusas. The main settlement started and developed in the city circa 2500 B.C. and it became the capital of the Hittite Empire. The Hittites who wrote the golden history of Anatolia signed, as a result of a war, the Kadesh treaty, the first treaty of peace in the world, with Egyptians in 1293 B.C. In around 1200s B.C. the area was sacked by Phrygians followed by Cimmerians and after the Macedonian, Seieucid, Pontus, Roman and Byzantine hegemonies, fell to Turks in 1071. Khattuassa, which was the centre of the Hittite Kingdom, is surrounded by walls of stone, 7 km long. Beneath the walls are hidden underground galleries with a length of up to 100 m also visible. The entrance into the city is through 7 main gates, primarily being the Gate with Lions flanked by lion's sphinxes which is on display in the Archeological Museum of istanbul, the King's Gate with the relief-carvings of the Khatti God which is on display in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations and the Ground Gate. Further, the city walls were extended within the city and transformed into inner castles. These are Yenice Castle, Ni§an Castle and Gen? Castle. Lying behind the walls are the remains of the King's Palace and of various temples primarily being those of the Temple of Mother Goddess visible. Inscriptions, archeological artifacts and . articles of daily use were uncovered in large numbers as a result of the excavations carried out.