Hattusa
The tumbled stone walls and temple foundations scattered across these hillsides are the remains of Hattusa, capital of the Hittite Empire. From the 17th to the 13th century BC, it ruled Anatolia from a walled city of about two square kilometres — administrative centre, noble residences, temples, and military buildings all within, with the royal household in the upper city and a citadel at its core. Most of what survives today is the stone skeleton: temple podiums and palace foundations. Excavations began in 1893; a large archive of cuneiform tablets came to light in 1906; UNESCO listed the site as a World Heritage Site in 1986. Walk from the lower city to the upper, and the corners people pass without a second glance are waiting for you to look again.
Turkey · 15 The overlooked corners inside
The overlooked corners inside
Hattusa Wishing Stone
At the entrance to a small chamber at the southern end of Temple 1 stands a deep-green block cut into a near-perfect cube — locals call it the *dilek taşı*, the wishing stone. It is the only stone of its kind anywhere in Hattusa, classified as nephrite or serpentinite, and it weighs roughly a tonne. Archaeologists have never been able to confirm what it was used for in antiquity, or how it came to be brought inside the temple. That unresolved mystery, layered with the wishing reputation it has accumulated over the centuries, makes this corner of a three-thousand-year-old ruin still one of the most visited spots on the site.
Sources: wikidata.org · en.wikipedia.org
Hattusa Green Stone
Beside an entrance at the southern end of the Great Temple — the doorway that opens onto the street outside — a deep-green cube of stone sits at ground level. It measures roughly 69 cm on each side, weighs about a tonne, and is the type of nephrite found in the region. Its surface now sits below the threshold, which suggests this is not its original position. It is the only stone of its kind in Hattusa, and its true purpose has never been established. That mystery is precisely what draws locals and visitors from around the world to this corner every day.
Sources: tr.wikipedia.org
Temple 1
Temple 1 is the largest temple in the lower city, and right beside it lies one of the largest state granaries in the Hittite Empire. In the lower city, between Büyükkale (the Great Citadel) and Temple 1, archaeologists uncovered a massive grain-silo complex — a facility that once fed the entire capital and served as a redistribution hub for the empire.
Sources: fr.wikipedia.org
Main Gate
The main entrance to Temple 1 sits on the southeast side of the complex and serves as the first threshold into the entire precinct. A guard room flanks each side of the passage, which leads inward to a colonnaded vestibule; a colonnade covers the outer face as well. The threshold stone still bears the metal traces of door hinges and the grooves worn by dragging door panels — small, direct evidence that this world was once in daily use.
Sources: turkisharchaeonews.net
Lion Basin
About 40 metres south of the main gate, a monumental sculpture carved from a single block of limestone stands beside the road. It is at least 5.5 metres long; a lion's head in full three-dimensional relief occupies each corner, the body depicted in low relief below — and following Assyrian convention, each lion has five legs so it reads complete from both front and side. For a long time scholars identified it as a ritual water basin, but recent research has found no inlet or outlet for water, and most now believe it was the base for a large cult statue displayed in front of the temple. During restoration work in 2017, scattered fragments were reassembled and mounted on a rubble-lime base, restoring it to its original position.
Sources: turkisharchaeonews.net
Inner Courtyard
Through the temple gateway lies this central courtyard, 27 by 20 metres. Original paving s… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: turkisharchaeonews.net
Temple Gateway
This gateway is the entrance to the temple proper, and its plan mirrors the outer main gat… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: turkisharchaeonews.net
Boğazköy Museum
The Boğazköy Museum, just beside the Hattusa site, is home to a Hittite sphinx that spent… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Büyükkale (Great Citadel)
Büyükkale — the Great Citadel — is a rocky promontory fortress roughly 150 by 250 metres w… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: tr.wikipedia.org
Büyükkaya
Büyükkaya is a rocky outcrop on the northern edge of Hattusa. Between 1994 and 2005, excav… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Kesikkaya
Kesikkaya is a rocky knoll at the southwestern end of Hattusa's lower city and marks the w… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Nişantaş (Inscribed Rock)
In the upper city of Hattusa, the eastern face of a natural rock outcrop is covered in row… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · vici.org
Sarıkale
Sarıkale is a rocky knoll in the southwestern quarter of Hattusa. On its western side, arc… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Yazılıkaya
Yazılıkaya lies about two kilometres northeast of ancient Hattusa and is a Hittite open-ai… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: tr.wikipedia.org
Yerkapı
Yerkapı is the most distinctive section of the southern wall of Hattusa's upper city. Its… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
FAQ
What overlooked corners are worth seeing inside Hattusa?
Hattusa Wishing Stone, Hattusa Green Stone, Temple 1 and more — 15 spots in all, each with sources and a guide in your language to read or listen to on the spot.
Is the Hattusa guide free?
The first 5 spots are free to read; the other 10 unlock with a one-time purchase (not a subscription).