Ancient Near East

The 3,000-year-old "İvriz Rock Monument" enchants visitors with its Hittite legacy as well as breathtaking natural heritage.

A mystical big green stone located in the Hittite capital Hattusha lures a number of tourists from home and abroad every day.

A central Anatolian province in Turkey seeks to be included in gastronomy cities with its local food culture, which includes well-known Turkish delicacies.         

The Anatolian Civilizations Museum in Ankara is set to display an armor made of gold dating back to the fifth century from Sept. 12 to Oct. 12.     

The new Urartu Museum building in the south of Van Castle was opened in the eastern province of Van, moving from its former premises after receiving damage during earthquakes that rattled the ancient city on Oct. 23 and Nov. 9, 2011.

Turkey on Aug. 26 is marking the anniversary of a battle nearly a millennium ago, a conflict that reverberates deeply in the soil of Anatolia and world history even many centuries later.

Fossils discovered in the Central Anatolian province of Nevşehir's Gülşehir district, which were revealed during excavations initiated for a housing area and date back millions of years, are being studied.

Archaeological excavations have been continuing for 30 years in the Ayanis castle, built by the Urartian King Rusa II on a hill overlooking Lake Van in the eastern province of Van. This year's works will focus on revealing the architectural secrets of a 2,700 year-old mystic Haldi temple in the castle.

With their hometown cleared of terrorist elements, Chaldean Christians in southeastern Turkey have returned to restore their local church.       

Goliath the Greek? Human remains from an ancient cemetery in southern Israel have yielded precious bits of DNA that a new study says help prove the European origin of the Philistines - the enigmatic nemeses of the biblical Israelites.