Karatepe-Aslantaş Outdoor Museum

Karatepe was built as a border stronghold in the Late Hittite Period (8th century B.C.) by the ruler of the Adana Plain, Asativatus, in order to protect his kingdom against the wild tribes in the north.

Thanks to the Phoenician (cuneiform) scripts here, a key was uncovered, which allowed the reading of the previously unsolved Hittite hieroglyphics. Hittite texts were read for the first time here on earth.  All of the hieroglyphics texts until 2000 BC in Anatolia were read, by decoding these texts.Monuments in Karatepe-Aslantaş were not removed from their places and transported into a closed museum, because they are parts of an architectural unity. An “Outdoor Museum” was established and monuments are exhibited there.