Stone temple of the Hittite guardian god

Stone temple of the Hittite guardian god

Yazılıkaya an open-air rock temple of the Hittite Empire is located off the coast of the ancient capital Hattusa in Çorum Province Turkey. Its rock walls are carved with over 90 figures of gods and goddesses. It is believed to have been the site of spring New Year celebrations and a central place of worship featuring an open-air hall formed by a cliff face suggesting the Hittite worship of Hatti the god of storms and Arinna the goddess of the sun.

The Lion Gate is one of the oldest ancient city gates in Hattusa the ancient city of Hattusa in Turkey. Hattusa was once the capital of the Hittite Empire.

Sixty-three different bas-relief carvings are etched directly into the limestone. Narrower, darker interior passageways were used for worshipping royal ancestors and the god Nergal the god of the underworld. The main open-air hall depicts a rock carving of a procession of male and female gods meeting at the shrine of the storm god Teshub and the sun goddess Hebat serving as a symbolic stone calendar tracking the cycles of the moon and sun for spring New Year rituals.

Yazilikaya an archaeological site that was an open-air sanctuary of the Hittites is located near the ancient capital of Hattusa in Turkey.

The temple is located off the coast of Hattusa. The capital of Turkey located in the northeast dates back to the 13th century BC built during the reign of Tudhalia IV. It is associated with the storm god Hatti and the sun goddess Arinna. The Hittites believed that the sun goddess Arinna resided in the city of Arinna near the capital Hattucha. She was considered the most important goddess and protector of the Hittite empire in ancient Anatolia ensuring peace and stability in the land.