Yesemek Quarry and Sculpture Workshop
Yesemek Quarry and Sculpture Workshop is part of the Tentative list of Turkey in order to qualify for inclusion in the World Heritage List.
The Yesemek Quarry and Sculpture Workshop was a center of mass production of lion, sphinx, and other sculptures during the Late Hittite Period. The area was rich in volcanic dolerite/basalt rocks and the raw material of the sculptures is basalt. In the quarry, large blocks of red basalt were broken up, by striking pre-existing cracks with hammer and chisel.
Map of Yesemek Quarry and Sculpture Workshop
Load mapThe coordinates shown for all tentative sites were produced as a community effort. They are not official and may change on inscription.
Community Reviews
Zoë Sheng
Chinese-Canadian - 07-Feb-22 -
Ugh, I hate it when a site it in a farm village. Sheep herds, cow pies everywhere, and people stare at you like an alien.
Could be all avoided if Turkey would make sense of their sites and clean the tentative site list up a little because by itself it has almost nothing to show for, but I can see it part of a Hittite serial nomination.
Entrance is free and you can walk around to see lion and sphinx statues in various stages of completion, although the best is still not a looker. Time hasn't been kind to these statues. Also according to the info panel there are more quarries around Turkey so I am guessing this is more special for being a workshop as well but all that remains are leftover products. Can't recommend this site at all and the roads leading to the village aren't fun to drive either. One is even washed out I think you may need to check with someone how to drive and not trust Google navigation.
Site Info
- Full Name
- Yesemek Quarry and Sculpture Workshop
- Country
- Turkey
- Added
- 2012
- Type
- Cultural
- Categories
- Structure - Factories and industry
- Link
- By ID
Site History
2012 Added to Tentative List
Site Links
Visitors
5 Community Members have visited.