Tonight I am sharing some pictures that I took while visiting the ruins of The Hittite Capital Hattusha.

The pictures are of a shepherd at work with his flock of sheep.

Only three pictures show the shepherd. The rest are of the flock and his helpers.

Here we see the shepherd with his rod watching over some of his sheep.

Do you know the difference between a rod and a staff? See my post: Thy Rod or Thy Staff?

Look at the majestic scenery in the background of this picture. Could you imagine spending all day watching your sheep in this environment?

Here we see the shepherd’s donkey. The donkey helps carry supplies and also can be ridden while moving the sheep to a new location.

Here is a wider view of the flock of sheep. You can see that it is quite a large flock of sheep. You can also see the beautiful scenery here.

I am not sure if this is a Kangal or an Anatolian Shepherd. There is disagreement whether they are even separate breeds.

In any case, the Kangal is a guardian dog and protects a flock of sheep. You can see the spiked collar that the dog is wearing. This is to protect the neck and also is used as a weapon when guarding the flock from predators like wolves or jackals.

I definitely would be careful around this dog. I have been bitten a few times by big dogs so I am always a bit leery around them.

However, if I needed a dog to help me guard my flock this would be my pick.

Steven

Hmm, was this post about the shepherd or his dog?