- Alacahoyuk National Park and Museum
Boğazköy-Alacahöyük National Park is the most popular tourism center of Çorum with its archaeological remains belonging to the Hittites, one of the oldest civilizations of Anatolia. It is located 80 km southwest of the center of the city of Corum in Bogazkale It is also Turkey and one of the world’s most important open-air museum. Covering an area of 2,634 hectares, including the ancient city of Hattusas (Boğazköy), which was the capital of the Hittites in the past, the national park is known for its stunning nature as well as its cultural and historical texture. The city walls, Lion Gate, Yer Kapı and Yazılıkaya are worth seeing in Hattusa, which is also on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.
There are very important historical ruins such as the City Walls, the Lion Gate, which is a national park area of 2,600 hectares covered with many ruins that literally take visitors on a stroll through time. Yazılıkaya, an open-air temple built between high rocks outside Hattusa City, is one of the largest and most impressive remains of the area. In the temple, figures of more than 90 gods, goddesses, animals and imaginary creatures were engraved on the rock surface. In the texts of the Hittites about the new year and spring ceremonies, the expression that “all gods gather in the house of the god of storm” finds its expression in Yazılıkaya. In this respect, Yazılıkaya should be the “house of the storm god” according to the Hittites.
In the excavations carried out in the area, 5 culture layers were determined. Remains of Byzantine, Roman, Galatian, Phrygian, Hittite, Assyrian and Hatti civilizations have been reached. Hattusha was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the 14th and 13th centuries BC. It has been on the World Cultural Heritage List since 1986. The cuneiform tablets have been on the Memory of the World List since 2001.
How to get to Alacahöyük National Park
Alacahöyük National Park is 500 meters from Boğazkale, 87 km from Çorum, 791 km from İzmir, 200 km from Ankara and 650 km from Istanbul. The closest airport to the national park is Esenboğa Airport in Ankara, but Amasya Merzifon Airport is also among the alternatives that can be used in the vicinity.
Visitors who want to reach the national park by land and come from the west should follow the Ankara-Çorum Highway. After Kırıkkale, Delice and Sungurlu, the district center can be reached from the Boğazkale district turnout.
From the east, there is direct transportation via Tokat, Zile or Yozgat. After reaching the center of Çorum by intercity buses, you can go to the national park with Boğazkale minibuses.
