On the bus

We are in the birthplace of civilization.

It is here that agriculture was born. It is here that the first towns were formed. It is here that people lived in right relation to their environment, their community, and their spiritual identities. Mostly.

We visited Catal Hoyuk and Sille, amazing sites outside of Konya.
Here is what the “Lonely Planet” guidebook of Turkey has to say.

Catal Hoyuk
One of the most famous archaeological sites is Catal Hoyuk, not because the remains are notedly spectacular but because for a long time this was the oldest“town.” That claim may not still hold true but the settlement remains one of the oldest ever discovered and archaeologists continue to work away (June to August) at unearthing its secrets.


The site of James Mealaart’s 1961-65 excavation crown the western mount, a short walk away and shows how the mound turned out to cover the remains of 13 layers of buildings, dating from 6800 to 5700.

There may once have been 150 mud brick dwellings on the site. Most seem to have been houses that were accessible via ladders from the roofs and which were filled in and built over when they started to wear out. Skeletons were found buried under the floors and most of the houses may be doubled as shrines.



Finds from the site include many layers of murals, bulls’ head plaster reliefs, mother-goddess figurines, tools and the earliest known pottery.



Sille: The pretty village of Sille is strung out like an oasis in the parched steppes northwest of Konya. The mud brick and cobblestone village houses, nestled in the rugged valley, are watched over by many forgotten rock-cut cave dwellings and chapels, the domed Byzantine St. Helen’s Church was reputedly founded by Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great.


On the hill to the north stands a small ruined chapel, the Kucuk Kilese.