Travel to and from Konya was by bus – our hotelier's favorite carrier, Kamel
Koc (you can do it – the c is ch, long o) The terminal in Ankara is huge, but well organized. We arrived in Konya in time for a walk to the ATM and a view out the hotel window of a soccer game and a sunset in progress. We hired a cab for the next morning to go to the first neolithic settlement that could be called a city, Çatalhöyük. At HDS,
the pronunciation was 'Kattle-hoyook': here it is more
like 'CHAT-all-huoghk', with the last syllable like clearing your throat. There was a museum, a kind of explanation of why the dig was going on, who funded it and what it meant. There are groups that gather every summer to do their college field work requirement under professor's guidance (up to 100 people), sightseers,
and neo-pagan's at the solstices, here to connect with the Goddess. Recently, they constructed a replica residence near the front gate, which showed how the design on the wall (leopard? Map?) and buffalo horns were displayed. The finest object not a reproduction of something already squirreled away by some big city museum (see 'Ankara, Cultural Museum'), is this obsidian knife.
The site itself, now in its off-season, had but one caretaker, who silently but with good spirit escorted us around.
The dome structure, although somewhat bigger and more refined, was built exactly like the FUUN gazebo dome: imagine how impressed Jim was. It went up in 2009, and protects the second most recent excavation. This is it folks – city #1. There were no streets – access was through the roof via a ladder, the opening for which served as chimney. Between this site and the 3rd most recent,
we passed over the highest point and got a view of the rich farmland and distant mountains which create a broad plain, this mound near the center. In the day, c. 7,000 BCE, this was bog – good for rice and natural defense, although all evidence points to a long reign of peace.
Here is the location of the leopard/map wall now in Ankara. The newest site is off-limits and as yet has no elaborate cover, just tents. We had time before catching our bus back to Ankara to find the restaurant where we had shared lunch in '09 when guests of BAKIAD (Turkey) and SUD (Nashville). We showed the waitstaff the picture of that day and pointed to the owner, with whom
we had had a lively conversation. Halfway through our meal, he appeared, and we had a great reunion. As we left, the young man who had been our Konya guide appeared for this photo with the owner and us.
Koc (you can do it – the c is ch, long o) The terminal in Ankara is huge, but well organized. We arrived in Konya in time for a walk to the ATM and a view out the hotel window of a soccer game and a sunset in progress. We hired a cab for the next morning to go to the first neolithic settlement that could be called a city, Çatalhöyük. At HDS,
like 'CHAT-all-huoghk', with the last syllable like clearing your throat. There was a museum, a kind of explanation of why the dig was going on, who funded it and what it meant. There are groups that gather every summer to do their college field work requirement under professor's guidance (up to 100 people), sightseers, 
and neo-pagan's at the solstices, here to connect with the Goddess. Recently, they constructed a replica residence near the front gate, which showed how the design on the wall (leopard? Map?) and buffalo horns were displayed. The finest object not a reproduction of something already squirreled away by some big city museum (see 'Ankara, Cultural Museum'), is this obsidian knife. 
The dome structure, although somewhat bigger and more refined, was built exactly like the FUUN gazebo dome: imagine how impressed Jim was. It went up in 2009, and protects the second most recent excavation. This is it folks – city #1. There were no streets – access was through the roof via a ladder, the opening for which served as chimney. Between this site and the 3rd most recent, 
we had had a lively conversation. Halfway through our meal, he appeared, and we had a great reunion. As we left, the young man who had been our Konya guide appeared for this photo with the owner and us.
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