   The Hittites were an Indo-European people who moved into Anatolia around 1375 BC, conquering and assimilating the local inhabitants, the Hatti. The Hittites created Hattusas from the ashes of a Hatti town on the site and made it their capital. Hattusas was destroyed in 1200 BC by the "sea peoples". Hattusas was unearthed by archaeologists in the early part of the 20th century. Of the numerous building scattered throughout the site only the foundations - made of huge boulders - remain. the timber and clay brick upper portions have long since vanished.
Buyuk Mabet - the best preserved Hittite temple, with a floor of uneven slabs, and two monolithic "gates". Around the central courtyard are store rooms, some containing huge clay pots. At the top of the hill, the fortress, (Yenicekale) offers a wonderful view of the area. Not much of the fortress remains, only portions of the terrace on which it was built.
The city wall, 6 km long and 10 meters high, is pierced by a tunnel. Visitors can enter through this tunnel or climb to the top of the wall. A short distance down the wall can be found the lion gates. The lion statues have been removed to the museum in Ankara, and copies remain. There is a third entrance, guarded by a sphinx (which is also a copy) The Hittites were ruled by a king, who was an absolute ruler. There was also an assembly which often wielded great power. Society was divided into free men - farmers, artisans and bureaucrats, and slaves and was regulated by a code of over 200 laws. Slaves were allowed to accumulate property and to marry.
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The Hittites worshipped Hebut, the sun goddess, as their supreme deity. This temple is also dedicated to the storm god, Teshuba.
About 3km from Hattusas is Yazilikaya, a place of worship for the Hittites. There is a large outcropping of rock, split by a narrow crevasse. Entrance through the crevasse takes one to a hollow between the rocks, with goddesses carved in procession along one wall and gods along the other. There, the chief god Teshuba and goddess Hebut meet.