The historical site of Boðazköy (Hattuþaþ) is located at 82 km to the southwest of Çorum and it is 208 km from Ankara. Hattuþaþ was the capital of the Hittite empire in the 2nd millenium BCE. The city was located on a mountain slope at the southern end of a small fertile plain. It lay between two deeply-cut streams which converged on the plain (at an elevation of about 3,100 ft), forming the northernmost point of the city. The city then stretches to the south, rising about 1000 feet over a distance of 1-1/4 miles. In some places the eastern valley narrows to a deep gorge. It seems surprising that such a remote city could have been the capital of an empire, but besides tradition there were the factors of plentiful water and good natural defenses that kept the Hittite kings there. (Location: Bogazkale)

Uploaded by slavica on 5/4/2009, viewed 3984 times.