In this gallery I show some pictures of a ride to Ain Dara (which, my driver told me, is in the Syrian Kurdish region, a fertile region where they grow lots of fruit as well as olives), then a visit to Ain Dara, and next some pictures of the ride up a ridge to the east and a single shot of one of the many Dead Cities up there.

Ain Dara is well known for its Neo-Hittite finds. At the beginning of the first century BC it was one of the fragmented principalities established following the invasion by the Sea Peoples in the Levant. It seems to have been incorporated into the Seleucid domains lying on the direct road from Antioch to Cyrrhus and on to Zeugma. The temple is described by Ross Burns from whom I quote as “The eclectic nature of the Neo-Hittite period is reflected in the temple which is the main point of interest on the mound. The format of the temple comprises main hall and inner chamber, antechamber and peripteral corridor.

I found there is another Ain Dara, but that is in Lebanon. If you know German the article in the German Wikipedia will be helpful. And note: From Turkey I have many more Hittite galleries, so if you like the subject, start at Boğazkale, former capital of the Hittites.