Ankara's Museum of Anatolean Civilizations

After another but more restful evening at a rest area, we drove straight on in to Ankara, Turkey's capital (since the 1920s), and one of the least likely locations for a major city I have seen. It's all hills and gorges and cliffs. But 2 million people live there, and it is the nation's administrative center. Most visitors come to Ankara to see its great museum of Anatolean civilizations. It is not a huge museum, but it has a wonderful collection, in many cases the best specimens from all the great sites, beginning with the paleolithic through to the Romans. It is especially strong in its Hittite collection, then Phrygians and Lydians.

Neolithic hand in positive with possible digital issues

Bronze age sun worship

Mother and child

Make mine a double

The usual quotidien tablets

Ceramics from every age

Roman bronze found in someone's garden...

Roman glass

Cybele, mother goddess

Gilgamesh

Early Hittite, 2nd millennium BCE

The Lydians were the first to use coins--here is a 7th century

BCE gold piece

The museum buildings are nearly as

interesting as the collection--the old city

bazaar--Ataturk himself "suggested"

converting the bazaar to a museum

I have left out much, including some very important stuff...we're still just learning this stuff as we go!