Bilkent Hosts Hittite Civilization
Archaeology and its attempt to reconstruct and interpret daily life from many thousands of years ago may be often associated with a rather dull statistic evaluation of bones and potsherds. However, the Hittites, Anatolia's great civilization of the Late Bronze Age, intrigue many people with their marvelous monuments they left about 4000 years ago.
Last week, between April 26 and 28, the Bilkent University community had a chance to come to terms with its western Asian ancestors in a symposium and exhibition, jointly organized by the Archaeology department and Çorum Governorship. The symposium "Hittites at the University" featured Hittite food and drinks, Hittite art, Çorum handcrafts, and expert panels focused on cultural habits such as music, dancing, and diet. The symposium attracted many participants from Bilkent and numerous guests from other universities and companies.
On Tuesday, April 26, the symposium had an exciting start with opening speeches of Provost Prof. Metin Heper, Dean of the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture Prof. Bülent Özgüç, and Asst. Prof. Thomas Zimmermann, acting chair of the Department of Archaeology at Bilkent. Following a multimedia presentation about Çorum and its cultural heritage, the event continued with lectures delivered by Prof. Tayfun Yıldırım and Prof. Aygül Süel of Ankara University. Prof. Süel enchanted the audience with philological and actual acoustic examples of Hittite music and ritual. Prof. Yıldırım seconded with archaeological evidence for music and dance in ancient Anatolia. Finally, the arts and crafts exhibition opened, and guests had the unique chance to taste Hittite style foods and drinks reconstructed from cuneiform tablet descriptions. On Wednesday, April 27, Dr. Selim Adalı of Bilkent's Archaeology Department shed light on Hittite politics, revealing the "The Secret of Hittite Success." According to Adalı, the main reasons for the vast Hittite success were long-term kingship, Anatolian political unity, and the Kadesh Treaty, the first peace treaty ever made between nations in history. The art exhibition also continued on Thursday, once more displaying the stunning cultural riches of Central Turkey. Prof. Süel, Prof. Yıldırım, Dr. Adalı, and Dr. Zimmermann received certificates of appreciation and commemorative plates from Çorum Governor Nurullah Çakır.