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TIIE^ NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC AlAGAZINE 





Photo by Isabel F. Dodd 



the; figure; of the amazon on the; 

 eastern gate 



which the tablets tell, as well as the con- 

 dition of the ruins unearthed, shows us 

 that some time in the thirteenth century 

 B. C. the great city was destroyed, prob- 

 ably by a sweeping down of some bar- 

 barian horde, thus anticipating (long ages 

 before) the story of the destruction of 

 Rome. And this Hittite capital was 

 never again inhabited or rebuilt, for there 

 is apparently no trace of Greek or Roman 

 work or influence in the remains. The 

 Hittite power, however, was not de- 

 stroyed then. Cilicia and the southern 

 part of Cappadocia have numerous mon- 

 uments which show occupancy by Hittite 

 people till about the eighth century B. C. 

 What is considered the latest of known 

 Hittite works is the rock sculpture at 

 Ivriz of the god of the harvest and a 

 worshiping king ; and this Ivriz, near the 

 Cilician gates, is one of the most beauti- 



ful spots in all Asia ]\Iinor. The sculp- 

 tured rock rises above a green dell, 

 through which flows such a mountain 

 stream as fills one's heart with singing. 

 Salmon trout are found in great numbers 

 in its rushing, green waters. 



These fish the modern Hittites (and 

 perhaps they learned it from the ancient 

 ones) catch in what any sportsman would 

 declare to be a most iniquitous manner. 

 They use no hook or line, but beat out 

 the juice of a certain milkweed and 

 spread this juice on the water. The trout 

 is intoxicated by it, turns over, and, 

 floating, is picked out by hand. They say 

 that the fish entirely recover in a bowl 

 of fresh water, and that the intoxication 

 does not injure the flesh for food. That 

 the salmon trout caught in this Hittite 

 way taste particular!}' good I can testify. 



The great Ivriz figures by the moun- 

 tain stream have been known and vi;:ited 

 by Europeans for ages, but a replica, 

 much worn and weathered, has lately 

 been discovered two miles farther up a 

 wonderful gorge, where great rocks like 

 those at Boghaz Keouy nearly meet over- 

 head, and here is shown that persistence 

 of sacred traditions about one place 

 which has often been remarked upon, for 

 here also the ruins of three Christian 

 churches cling to the sides of the gorge. 



THE AMAZON OE THE EASTERN GATE 



As we walk away from the citadel in 

 Boghaz Keouy to see the various points 

 of special interest Avithin the five-mile 

 circuit of the ancient walls, we come first 

 to the one place on this site where there 

 has been found any inscription in the 

 Hittite hieroglyphics (those hieroglyphics 

 which are so common all through the 

 more southern Hittite country). This 

 one inscription of Boghaz Keouy is so 

 badly worn by time and weather that it 

 is quite illegible. Further down the hill 

 slope we come to the Eastern gate. Tike 

 the other city entrances, this has two 

 parts, with a square room between the 

 outer and inner gate. The posts of the 

 real door curve in toward the top, as if 

 they once formed a pointed arch. This 

 Eastern gate has long been known and is 



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