The Country With The Most Ancient Ruins If I asked you to pick the country which probably had more ancient ruins than any other, which would it be? Would you say Egypt because of the pyramids, Sphinx and temples? Maybe you would pick Italy, after all the Romans left structures all over their country, some of which are still in use in some places? I know, maybe you would pick Iraq because of Babylon or Iran because of ancient Persia. Let’s not forget China, they have also been around a long time as has India and a few other places. While all of these places have some very ancient ruins, I believe they can’t compare with the number of ruins in Turkey. You may wonder why I say this, and the reason is quite simple. Turkey has been invaded more than any other country in existence and just about every race which invaded them left structures behind. Before those invasions some very ancient structures were built there which may be the oldest in the world. There is a temple complex which was discovered in Turkey named Göbekli Tepe. It is so ancient many archeologists believed before it was discovered, such a thing couldn’t exist. They thought this because the current thinking was, we were all hunter gatherers at the time and the construction would have meant many people would have had to stay in one place for a long time to construct these circular temples. Another reason was there were incredible carvings in this temple complex made on very hard stone and no one thought we would have been capable of doing this with the stone tools of the time. The estimate for the age of the temple complex is said to be about 12,000 years, but there are those who believe it is much older and can date back to 20,000 years ago. Nemrut Dag? is one of the most ancient sites in Turkey. It is a volcano. At the summit are many and what some call weird, statues. Giant heads stick out for the soil along with structural heads. It is believed the statues there were ordered built by King Antiochus of Commagene. They are said to date back to the first century B.C. King Antiochus. Antiochus was the king of the Seleucid Empire. The Greeks, Romans and Persians all wanted to conquer Turkey. Each race left ruins there. One of the more famous ruins and a name which almost everyone recognizes is Troy. While Troy is less impressive than many of the other ruins in Turkey, it has one of the best stories and because of this will always be remembered. Books have been written about it over the centuries, and even movies made about it. There was a city in Turkey built by the ancient Greeks who began to populate it as early as 3,500 B.C. It was a Mycenaean stronghold from 1450 to 1100 B.C. but later became a great Greek City. As time went by, it was captured by the Persians. Alexander the Great took it back in 334 B.C. Today it is a ruin but some of the structures are in fairly good shape such as the Greco-Roman theatre. The name of the city was Miletus. When we think of structures being cut from the rock of a mountain or hillside many of us think of Petra, in Jordan. There are structures there that are the wonder of the world. These types of structures, while not as grand, also exist in Turkey. They are called the Lycian Rock Tombs. The Lycian’s were masters of stone work. They cut these beautiful tombs right into the rocky hillside. There are hundreds of these hand hewn rock tombs. It is believed they date back to the 5th century B.C. Some of the other races which invaded Turkey in ancient times were the Hittites 1600 to 1200 B.C., the Phrygians 1200 to 700 B.C., Byzantines 400 to 1453 A.D., Turkish Seljuks 1075 to 1318 A.D. Turkey was inhabited in the Anatolia region as far back as the Paleolithic age. The Paleolithic age started in 2.6 million B.C .and ended in 13000 B.C. It is believed Anatolia was first inhabited about 7500 B.C. by some experts even though some believe it goes back further as I indicated. It seems the earliest indications of habitation in Turkey are just not agreed about. Remnants of Bronze Age civilizations such as the Hattian, Akkadian, Assyrian and Hittites have been found. There are so many mysterious ruins found in Turkey it is hard to pick the most mysterious ones. For example, why did the residents dig out huge underground cities? One which archaeologists believe may be the world’s biggest was found and consists of multi-levels, an incredible number of rooms and hidden passages. It is being called by the name Matiate. Everything needed to continue the life of the inhabitants was found there including stables, wells and silos. Scientists claim it was inhabited at least off and on for over 1900 years. An estimate was made of how many it could support and the estimate was between 60,000 and 70,000 people. It is thought by many experts the city was built to protect the population from invasion. There is a ruin in Turkey named Pergamon. The ruin is of one of the most important cities of the Hellenistic and Roman time. The ruins are spread out throughout the town of Bergama. They include an ancient healing center named Asciepion. The area also featured many temples and a theatre. It is said the Asciepion was one of the most famous healing centers of its time. The most visited Greco-Roman site in Turkey is said to be Ephesus and no wonder. It is a magnificent structure. The most famous part is the Ceisus Library. It was built about 100 A.D. The Turkish government reconstructed the façade in the 1970s. The statues and pillars are incredible. Hattusa is a popular site among tourists. It was the capital city of the Hittites at one time. It was first founded by the Hattians. It was taken by the Hittites in 1650 B.C. and served as their capital until 1200 B.C. One of the attractions is the city’s walls, which were rebuilt by the Turkish government. It is hard to believe how long Turkey has been around. Perhaps some day we will find out it is not Africa was the cradle of civilization, but Turkey. There is one thing for sure however, if one is interested in ancient ruins, Turkey is the place to go to first, before any of the other ancient countries.
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