History and archaeology / Archaeological site
Yesemek Open-Air Museum and Sculpture Workshop
İslahiye, Gaziantep
The largest known Hittite quarry and sculpture workshop of the ancient Near East, where hundreds of unfinished basalt lions, sphinxes and reliefs lie on the hillside.
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Its story
Spread over an area of about 100,000 m², Yesemek is a basalt quarry and sculpture workshop founded in the reign of the Hittite Emperor Šuppiluliuma I (14th century BC). Production, which stopped with the collapse of the empire, resumed in the 9th century BC in the time of the Aramean Kingdom of Sam'al and was abandoned again with Assyrian domination. At the site you can see in place hundreds of lions, sphinxes, mountain gods and reliefs prepared to adorn city gates and palaces, some of them left unfinished; Bahadır Alkım's excavations of 1957–1961 uncovered about 200 sculptures. It is an open-air museum attached to the Gaziantep Archaeological Museum.
Key facts
- Period
- 14th–8th century BC
- Admission
- Paid (Müzekart valid)
- Getting there
- Yesemek neighborhood, ~23 km from İslahiye
- Visit duration
- 1.5 hours
Trip purpose
- Photography
- Day trip
- Hiking
Location
36.90399, 36.74696
Reviews
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Source: Web derlemesi (doğrulanmalı): https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yesemek_Taşocağı_ve_Heykel_Atölyesi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yesemek_Quarry_and_Sculpture_Workshop | https://muze.gov.tr/muze-detay?SectionId=GYO01&DistId=MRK | https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/174944218