When
we drive east of Ankara to the Corum way, after 3 hours later we will arrive an open-air
rock pantheon dating from the 13th century BC, contains fine reliefs of all the
Hittite gods and goddesses. The emblematic rock-cut sanctuary of Yazilikaya is a sort of pantheon
of the Hittite divinities. Large numbers of tourists visit the excavations of
Hattusas, not much more than 2 km. distant, with a visit to this evocative open-air site
in its harsh natural surroundings. The two rows meet on the north wall where the most
important images in the shrine of Yazilikaya are to be found: The God of
Tempests Teshub and the Goddess of the Sun Hepatu. The largest relief in
the main gallery however is the one representing King Tudhaliyas IV, thus giving as
a date in the second half of the 13th century B.C The figure of this king is directly
related the chronology of this unique sanctuary, built by Hattusilis III and his
consort Puduhepa, father and mother of the above named king. There are also splendid
extremely well-preserved basreliefs in the smaller gallery, which archaeologists generaly
think were connected with he cult of a deceased king (Tudhaliyas II or III).
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