Hattusa & Yazılıkaya

East of Ankara, near the village of Boğazkale, lie the ruins of Hattusa — the capital of the Hittite Empire, one of the great powers of the Late Bronze Age, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986. This is the eastern day-trip, and the most ancient: a vast ruined city spread across hills and valleys, with monumental gates carved with lions and sphinxes, temple foundations, and a royal citadel. Two kilometres away, the open-air rock sanctuary of Yazılıkaya carries reliefs of the Hittite gods in procession. Together they are the heartland of a civilisation that once stood level with Egypt.