Kültepe (Kanesh)
Kültepe
The Bronze Age Assyrian merchant colony of Kanesh, where more than 20,000 cuneiform clay tablets were unearthed; the site is on UNESCO's World Heritage Tentative List.
Kültepe is the site of the ancient city of Kanesh (Nesha). Between the 20th and 18th centuries BCE it was a trading post, or karum, of Assyrian merchants in Anatolia. The more than 20,000 Old Assyrian clay tablets unearthed here are among the earliest commercial archives in the world, and the site is also a key source of the earliest written records of the Hittite language. The site consists of an upper mound with palaces and temples and a lower city with the merchant quarter. Excavations continue in summer, and there are information boards and a small on-site exhibition hall. Most artifacts are held in the Kayseri Archaeology Museum and the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara. It lies about 20 km northeast of Kayseri and requires a private car or taxi.
Opening hours
About 08:00–17:00
Nearby sights
- Ağırnas (Mimar Sinan's Birthplace)
- Kadir Has City Museum
- Talas Old Town & Ali Dağı
- Tomb of Seyyid Burhaneddin
- Hunat Hatun Complex
- Döner Kümbet
- Kayseri Castle
- Sahabiye Medrese