One year ago today I visited the ruins of The Hittite Capital Hattusha.

The trip has been in my thoughts as several of my friends have mentioned our trip to Turkey one year ago. You can visit my Turkey page to see more about the entire trip.

While we were waiting for everyone to get back on the bus after our first stop I bought an item from one of the young people who were selling souvenirs.

I don’t remember how much I paid for the item that I bought. I do remember that I saw the same item later for a lower price, but then I wouldn’t have had the experience of buying it from the young man at the site.

I told him that I would buy the rock carving that is shown in his left hand if he would let me take his picture and use it on my blog. Finally after a year I am using the picture 🙂

Here is the front side of the carving. It shows the 12 gods of the underworld.

On the back is a carving of a double headed eagle which was one of the symbols that the Hittites used.

The 12 gods of the underworld on the front of the carving are based one one of the carvings at Yazilikaya. The name Yazilikaya means rock with writing. There were many reliefs cut into the rock at the site and they are located in two main chambers.

Here are the 12 gods of the underworld at Yailikaya. They were really impressive in person. Although the item I bought pales in comparison, it is a good memory aid.

The 12 gods of the underworld appear in both Chamber A and Chamber B. The one above is from Chamber B which is in much better condition.

Here is the carving from Chamber A. The carvings in Chamber A have much more wear on them. They are also more open to the elements, so this may be the main reason for the wear.

Can you imagine what these looked like when they were newly carved? They would probably have also been painted with bright color which would have really made them stand out.

This is definitely a place that I would like to visit again someday.

Who wants to go with me?

Steven